Wrong Place, Wrong Time
by Winter1066
Summary: Don, Charlie and Terry enter a bank only to find out it's being robbed.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Downtown Los Angeles could be a busy place: not as crazy as New York's 42nd street, but close enough. One couldn't' tell from the FBI bullpen Don Eppes' was sitting in, however. The flu had cut their work force by half. Everyone was working on double cases, just trying to pick up the slack. Don leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. If he sat here and looked at his computer screen for one more second he'd go crazy. Glancing up at the clock Don had his excuse.

"That's it! Time for lunch!"

Terry looked up from her desk and frowned. "Lunch already?"

"Yup," Don said putting his hands over his head and stretching.

"Time sure flies when you're having fun," David said sarcastically.

"Hey quit complaining. At least we don't have the financial fraud case," Terry said.

"Charlie loves those," David said. "I say he can have them anytime he wants."

Don looked across the room. He could see Charlie, through the glass, scribbling equations on a white board at a frantic pace. The FBI was so short handed right now that Don had called Charlie in to help. Normally they would only call Charlie in if their own financial people couldn't find a pattern. This week there hadn't been anyone to cover the case Charlie was now working on. It had taken Charlie two days to find the data he needed and now he was on a roll.

"How does he do that?" Terry asked as she watched Charlie fill the one white board and move to the next without a pause.

"When Charlie was little mom learned to have lots of paper around," Don said. "Once he ran out and started writing on the walls. Dad wasn't happy when he had to repaint the living room and the dinning room."

"How old was he?" Terry asked.

"I think he was six," Don said with a shrug. "Maybe five."

"Five," David said shaking his head. He turned back to look at Charlie. "I want to know how he can do two things at once."

"What, you can't listen to music and do something else?" Don asked.

"Listen to music and drive, not do complex math equations."

"He says it helps him concentrate," Don replied.

"Well, go get the genius since it was your suggestion to go to lunch," Terry said as she turned back to her computer to save what she had been working on.

Don waked to the conference room and entered. Charlie was oblivious to the fact that his brother had walked up behind him. The earphones were pulled off his right ear and Charlie kept working.

"Earth to Charlie!"

"Hmm," Charlie mumbled as he kept writing.

"Time for lunch."

"Lunch?" Charlie asked, confused, and turned to Don.

"Yeah, you know, food."

"Guess I am kinda hungry," Charlie said, just as his stomach growled.

"Let's go."

Charlie took off the headphones and placed them on the desk as he followed Don. He smiled at David and Terry as they all made their way to the elevator.

"I have to run to the bank first," Don said as the doors closed.

"Yeah we don't want you using the excuse you have to hit and ATM," Charlie teased.

"He try that one on you too?" Terry asked.

"Dad actually," Charlie smiled. "But Dad followed him to the ATM and got his money."

"Where do we want to go?" David asked. "I can run ahead and get a table."

"How about the Imperial Palace?" Terry asked.

"I love Chinese," Charlie said.

"Sounds good to me," Don said as the elevator doors opened.

"OK I'll go get a table," David said as he walked in the opposite direction once out the doors.

Both Terry and Charlie decided to go with Don. They had been cooped up in the office most of the morning and they both wanted to stretch their legs. It was a short walk to the bank and Don held the door open for Terry. Before Charlie could walk in behind her Don stepped in front of him and made Charlie hold his own door. Charlie shoved Don and Terry just shook her head.

"This is going to take awhile," Terry commented when she saw the line.

"Come on, Don, I'll pay for lunch," Charlie suggested.

"No, I needed to pay a bill too while we were here," Don said. "It won't be as long as you think."

"Uh huh, right," Terry said as she took a seat.

Charlie joined her and grabbed a magazine from off the table. The _National Enquirer_ certainly wasn't _Scientific America_ but it would pass the time.

Terry turned to see what Charlie was reading and smiled. Nothing on the table interested her so she turned to watch the people. They were a typical lunch crowd for the downtown area. Terry heard the door open and watched as four men walked in carrying black duffels. One had dark hair and was about six feet tall. Another was blond with a slight build. The third was a skinny redhead, while the forth was a tall African American. Something about the men made Terry's hair stand on end. She was about to tell Charlie when the men reached in the bags and pulled out automatic weapons.

"Alright everybody listen up!" the dark haired one shouted.. "Nobody gets hurt if you listen to what we say."

Out of the corner of her eye, Terry noticed the bank guard reach under his table. She hoped he was hitting the silent alarm. When he looked at the other guard, Terry knew they were going to do something stupid. The bank robber closest to the door must have sensed the same thing, and shot the guard just as he drew his gun. People started screaming and dropping to the floor. Terry grabbed Charlie and pulled him down with her.

"That wasn't very smart," said the African - America robber who shot the gun. "Now put your weapon down."

The other bank guard did as he said and stepped away from his gun. Terry glanced at Don, who shook his head at her. Terry nodded and turned to Charlie. Charlie's eyes were wide and she could see he was shaken. Terry gave his arm a squeeze as she smiled encouragingly. Charlie relaxed slightly and half-heartedly returned the smile. The bank robbers were herding the hostages over to one side of the bank as one of them began to pull the drapes closed and lock the door.

"Search them," the leader said.

Don had joined back up with Terry and Charlie as they were pushed to the other side of the bank. Charlie shot Don a scared look. He knew both Don and Terry were carrying guns.

"It'll be alright, Charlie," Don said.

"Shut up!" the blond robber said.

It didn't take them long to find Don and Terry's guns along with their ID's. The blond robber searching them pushed Don and Terry away from the other hostages. Charlie didn't want to be separated from Don but he wasn't given a choice in the matter. Charlie hastily emptied his pockets and handed the items to the bank robber.

"God damn it, not another one!" the robber exclaimed as he patted Charlie down, then roughly pushed him towards Don.

Don easily caught his smaller brother before he could fall. Obviously Charlie had put his ID in his pocket before they had left the federal building. This was fine with Don; at least Charlie would be close now.

"You realize you won't be able to get away with this," Don commented.

"Really?" The dark haired robber said, as he looked at the ID's his companion handed him.

Don watched him as he checked the ID's. Agent Eppes had seen his type before; self assured, cocky and reckless. But there was something different about this guy. Don could feel it in his gut.

"You know the guard you killed probably hit the silent alarm."

"True, but we don't plan to be here that long." The leader looked closer looked at the ID's again, then glanced at Don and Charlie. "Both of you're last names are Eppes. I'm guessing brothers."

Don just stared at the robber who smiled. As they were talking police cars, with siren's blaring, could be heard pulling up outside. The African-American robber close to the window pulled back the drapes to look out.

"We've got four cop cars out here."

"You might as well give up," Don said. "You have no chance. If you give up peacefully things will go…"

Don wasn't given the chance to finish as the leader slammed the butt of his rifle into Don's gut. Don's breath was knocked from him and he doubled over trying to breathe. He watched as the gun was then pointed to his head.

"No!" Charlie yelled, and shoved the leader in the side. The robber was surprised, and stumbled away from Don, but didn't fall.

Don watched in horror as the blond robber slammed the butt of his riffle into Charlie's head. Charlie dropped like a puppet with his string cut and all Don could do was watch as he tried to catch his breath.

"Next time teach your brother to heel," the leader said as he walked away. "Move the other hostages to the back. Keep those three up front. They're our insurance."

Once Don could breathe again he quickly moved to his brother's side. Terry helped him turn Charlie over. Don cursed when he saw the blood covering the right side of the mathematician's face. Terry grabbed her partner's arm so he couldn't do something stupid.

"No, Don."

"Yeah listen to the little woman, _Don_, don't want you doing something stupid," the blond said.

"Just keep it together," Terry said as she grabbed a handkerchief from Don's pocket. "Help Charlie first. Then we'll worry about the robbers."

Don nodded, took the handkerchief from her, and pressed it to the cut on Charlie's temple. Terry watched as Don helped Charlie, but she knew it would only keep him busy for a short time. After that, Don's training would kick in, and he'd try to negotiate for the release of the hostages.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The waitress walked over to David and asked if she could get him a drink. He declined and watched her walk away. Glancing at his watch, for the fourth time, made him wonder where the others were. He'd give them another ten minutes then he'd go looking for them. As he waited he noticed two police cars with lights and sirens blaring drive by. Munching on the fried noodles on the table, he waited. The ten minutes went by and David called the waitress over to apologize saying he had to leave. He threw a couple of dollars on the table for the girl's troubles and headed for the bank.

The bank was around the corner from the restaurant and as David turned the corner he saw where the police cars had gone. As he got closer to the bank he showed his ID to one of the officers.

"We don't need any help from a febbie right now," said the officer.

"Just take me to whoever is in charge," David said, ignoring the insulting remark.

The officer pointed out a SWAT captain a few cars over. David thanked he officer and walked over towards the captain.

"Captain, I'm Special Agent David Sinclair. I think two of my partners and an FBI consultant are in the bank."

"Pleased to meet you. I'm Captain Harris. What makes you think your partners are in there?"

"We were meeting for lunch down the block, but they stopped at the bank first. That was almost an hour ago."

"Damn! If they're in there this complicates matters."

"You think the robbers will use them as collateral, figuring we won't bust in with our own in there."

"It's what I'd do," Captain Harris said. "What're the names of the agents inside?"

"Special Agent Don Eppes and Terry Lake. Don's brother Charlie was also with them."

"Charlie an agent too?"

"No, he's a consultant."

"Thanks for the information. We've been trying to contact the robbers, but so far they aren't answering the phones."

"I'll leave you to your job," David said. "I need to call my supervisor to let him know what's going on."

David stepped to the side and flipped open his phone. He wasn't looking forward to explaining this to Merrick.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Don leaned his head back against the desk and sighed. The bank robbers had put the other hostages across the room, up against the teller's desk. The hostages ranged in age from approximately 25 - 60. Don was glad there had been no young children in the bank. Terry was sitting next to him watching the bank robbers.

"Profile them for me," Don said.

"Well, for lack of names the leader: he's self-assured and confident that he can pull this off. Blondie, the one who took our ID's, he seems to be arrogant, and has a hair trigger. He's just looking for an excuse to use his gun. The other two I'm not sure of, since we haven't dealt with them yet."

"Well they don't seem to be after the money in the vault," Don observed. "The red head went directly to the computer and has been typing away ever since."

"I noticed that," Terry nodded. "Like Charlie pointed out to us, there's more in a bank then just money. How is he, anyway?"

Don glanced down at Charlie and shook his head. The bleeding had stopped but Charlie was still unconscious. His brother's weight was starting to put his leg to sleep and Don knew he'd have to shift Charlie soon.

"The bleeding's stopped," Don said as he shifted his leg to get more comfortable.

"That's good," Terry said glancing down at Charlie. "I never expected him to do something like that. He's as protective of you as you are of him."

"Yeah, well, it's a brother thing I guess. You can't tell me you don't feel that way about your siblings."

"Oh I do, but Charlie just doesn't seem to be one to confront people."

"Charlie's not as helpless as everyone thinks. He knows how to hold his own in a fight. It just happens he was always the smallest in high school and I generally did the rescuing."

"Charlie knows how to fight?"

"Yeah, dad taught him. He knew Charlie would be picked on at school so he gave him the basics on how to defend himself."

"Who did he practice on?"

"Me, except I would just put my hand on his head and hold him away from me while he would try to hit me." Don smiled as he remembered Charlie's indignant pleas that he was cheating.

"You would," Terry scolded.

"Anyway, I do remember this one time these two guys were beating me up. They were bigger then me and one was pinning my arms while the other beat the crap out of me. Next thing I know the one holding me screams and releases my arms. I jumped on the one that had been hitting me and beat the crap out of him. He ran off and I turned to see what had scared the other one. There was Charlie clinging to the back of this guy as he tried to swat Charlie off."

"If I remember right, he broke my arm."

"Charlie!" Don exclaimed and looked down at his brother.

"Not so loud," Charlie complained as he raised his hand to touch the cut.

"I wouldn't," Don said, grabbing his hand. "We just got the bleeding to stop."

"So this guy broke your arm," Terry prompted.

"Yeah," Don continued. "The goon was finally able to grab Charlie and threw him off. Charlie ended up breaking the radius in his left arm. We told our mom he'd fallen out of a tree."

"I don't think she believed us," Charlie said trying to sit up.

"Whoa, where do you think you're going?" Don asked as he grabbed his brother's shoulders.

"I just want to sit up," Charlie said as he levered himself up and instantly regretted it. "On second thought…"

"I didn't think so," Don said lowering Charlie's head back to his lap.

"You know David's probably pissed at us right now," Terry commented.

"Yeah, he's probably wondering where we are." Don said.

"On average people will wait approximately thirty minutes for someone before they leave," Charlie commented.

"You would know that," Don teased.

"Do you think they're trying to get us out?" Charlie asked.

Don looked down at his brother and saw he was scared. He reached down and pushed his younger brother's unruly curls off his forehead. "Yeah, they're out there. We heard siren's stopping out front while you were taking a nap."

"Now we just have to sit and wait while they negotiate," Terry said.

"Right, which means were going to be here awhile," Don added.

While they were talking the leader was standing behind the redhead at the computer. Terry could see he wasn't happy with what the redhead was doing.

"You said you could do this!" the leader snapped.

"I can, it's just going to take me longer then I thought," the redhead said.

"That's not good enough," the leader said.

The redhead was taken completely by surprise as the leader brought up his gun and shot him in the head. The hostages started screaming and Don knew things had gotten a lot worse.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The downtown area, outside the First National Bank, was in chaos. Police officers were trying to direct traffic away from a three-block radius. Others were trying to contain the spectators, and reporters that always seemed to come when there was trouble. David couldn't believe this was happening. As he looked around he saw police cars had blocked the street with their lights still flashing. This, added to the noise, was making it hard for him to concentrate on what Assistant Director Merrick was saying. As he talked with the director a feeling of helplessness came over him. The young agent knew he wouldn't have been any help inside but it didn't make him stop wishing he was in there.

"The FBI is offering any help you need," David said, as he joined Captain Harris by the SWAT truck. "We have an assault team at your disposal."

"We can use some snipers."

"I can get those for you."

"I need them to cover the back of the bank."

David nodded and flipped open his phone. He talked for a few minutes then hung up.

"Any word from inside?" David asked.

"So far they haven't answered the phone," Captain Harris said gesturing towards the bank. "The blinds have all been lowered so we have no visuals."

"So we have no idea how many hostages or criminals are inside."

"The sound techs have picked up at least two voices."

"How?" David asked surprised.

"Come on I'll show you."

David followed the captain to the surveillance van. Inside was a tech with earphones on listening to a tape machine. The two men climbed into the van.

"Earlier one of my men got close enough to one of the windows to attach a listening device," Captain Harris explained.

"It's hard to tell how many there are," the tech said. "But I've been able to distinguish four or five voices. Two are bank robbers and the others might be hostages."

"Can I listen?" David asked. "If Don's in there I'm sure he's been trying to talk to them."

The tech nodded and handed David the headphones. The tape was rewound and played. All the voices were distorted, but David heard Don talking. Then there was a grunt and he could hear Charlie yell. Two other voices he didn't recognize could be heard, then Terry's voice telling Don to take care of Charlie. David pulled off the headphones and handed them to the tech.

"I recognized my partners," David said. "Sounds like something went down and Charlie was hurt."

"Charlie's the consultant?" Captain Harris asked.

"Right," David confirmed. "Don's pretty protective of his brother."

"Will he lose his head if something happens to his brother?"

"Oh he'll be pissed, but he won't jeopardize anyone's life. Don has a level head on his shoulders."

"That's good to hear."

While they were taking the tech went back to listening. Everything seemed to be quiet. He heard muffled voices further back in the bank. The tech adjusted some knobs as he leaned in closer, to the machine, hoping it would reveal more. Angry voices could be heard, when suddenly a shot was fired. The tech jumped back as screams of terror blasted through the headphones.

"Shot fired!" the tech yelled.

Captain Harris quickly moved to the tech's side. "Single shot?"

"Yes," the tech said. "I hear screaming but nothing else."

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

"Shut up!"

Don watched as the blond robber rushed over to the hostages and pointed his gun at them. The situation was starting to get out of hand and Don knew the robber was going to do something stupid. As Don was watching the blond he failed to notice the leader raise his gun and point it at his partner.

"Fritz, don't do something you'll regret."

"But they won't shut up!" Fritz said turning. He was surprised when he saw the gun aimed at him. "God damn it, Sergie! You'd shoot me too?"

"If you jeopardize my plans, yes."

"I think you already jeopardized the plan," the african-american robber said. "Mikey was the one who knew the computers."

"When I want your input, Calvin, I'll ask for it," Sergie said, turning. "Now go do the job I hired you for."

Don watched as Calvin disappeared into another room. With the hostages now quiet, Don turned to look at Terry. He could see she had been following the exchange to try to analyze it. Terry's expertise as a profiler would help them determine how the robbers would react. She was calm and hadn't been disturbed by what had just happened. Charlie, on the other hand, wasn't as detached. When the shot had been fired Charlie sat up, and would have run for cover, if Don hadn't stopped him. Don knew Charlie wasn't a coward, but his fight or flight instinct leaned more towards the flight end. Once Don saw that Sergie had Fritz back under control he turned to his brother. Charlie was leaning against the desk with his head back and his eyes closed. Don could see that his younger brother was pale and breathing fast.

"You okay, Charlie?"

"Fine," Charlie answered but didn't open his eyes.

"Charlie, I think you better lay back down," Terry suggested when she saw how pale he was.

"I'd rather be able to see what they're up to," Charlie said as he opened his eyes. "Felt kinda vulnerable lying there on the floor."

"What do you think they'll do now?" Don asked, looking at Terry.

"My profile of Sergie hasn't changed," Terry said. "He's still confident he can pull this off. Fritz's hasn't changed either. I still can't tell you about Calvin."

"The question is, what will Sergie do now that he no longer has his computer expert?" Charlie asked looking at his brother.

"Good question," Don said. "Not sure if I want to find out."

"Damn it, Sergie, why'd you have to kill Mikey?" Fritz asked as he moved over to the leader. "Now how are we supposed to get what we need?"

"You worry too much, Fritz," Sergie said.

Fritz scrubbed his fingers through his hair in frustration. He knew Sergie would think of something but all this waiting was making him crazy. The hostages were starting to bug him, the women were crying and the men were wimps. Fritz started pacing as he watched Sergie go through the wallets of the hostages.

"What the hell are you doing now?"

"Looking for a replacement for Mikey."

"You think one of them can help?"

"Won't know until I look."

"You're nuts," Fritz said, pacing faster. "There's cops out they're just waiting to blow our brains out and you're rifling through people's wallets."

"The cops won't do anything as long as we have the hostages," Sergie explained.

Sergie ignored his partner and continued what he was doing. None of the wallets, so far, revealed anything of use. The FBI wallets contained their badges and ID. Their personal wallets showed a little more. Terry Lake was fond of old movies, as Sergie found out pulling theatre stubs out of her wallet. She also shopped in trendy stores. Don Eppes was as boring as Sergie guessed. All that was in his wallet was a few credit cards and some cash. He picked up the last wallet and opened it. A couple of papers fell out and he picked them up. As Sergie opened the papers he smiled. Putting them to the side he continued to go through the wallet. He found an ID for CalSci and turned to his partner.

"Fritz, I think we've found our replacement."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The atmosphere inside the bank was extremely tense. The hostages were constantly in fear of what Fritz would do to them. They were quiet now, but Sergie knew when his partner got bored he'd threaten the hostages. Fritz was good at this, and Sergie never discouraged him. It kept them from doing something stupid. The only hostages Sergie had to worry about were the three he had separated from the others. He leaned back in the chair and glanced at the two FBI agents. Don Eppes was walking a precarious tightrope. Sergie knew he wouldn't sit there quietly forever. Agent Lake was also a dangerous one. She watched everything and was a calming influence on her partner. While Sergie watched, Don leaned over to his brother and said something to make him smile. Sergie envied them their closeness, but he wasn't above exploiting that sentiment for his purposes. The papers that fell out of Charlie's wallet were sitting on the desk in front of him. He picked them up, and marveled at the complexity of the equations scrolled across the small pieces of paper. He placed them back on the desk when the phone rang. This time he decided to answer it.

"Hello."

"This is Captain Harris of the LAPD S.W.A T. Who am I speaking to?"

"It's not important," Sergie said, leaning back in the chair. "What is important is I hold ten hostages. Three are FBI."

"Are any of them hurt?" Captain Harris asked.

"Not too bad. They will remain unharmed as long as you do nothing to jeopardize their lives."

"There was a shot fired earlier."

"There was," Sergie said smiling. "It's nothing for you to worry about."

"When you have ten hostages and I hear gun fire I tend to worry."

"Then you'll just have to worry," Sergie laughed.

"Do you have demands?"

Sergie knew how to play the negotiating game. The first round would be a friendly talk, then they would ask for the release of the hostages. If he didn't comply they would turn off the power to the building. That was something he couldn't have them do.

"No demands; just a warning," Sergie said. "If you turn off the power to the building I will shoot one of the hostages."

"Threatening the lives of the hostages isn't a smart thing to do."

"It's not a threat," Sergie replied coldly. "It's a promise."

Captain Harris stared at the phone as the bank robber hung up on him. The conversation hadn't revealed anything about the bank robbers but they now knew there were ten hostages in the bank. It was a high number that he needed to reduce in case he had to send in an assault team. The turmoil on the street had quieted down. The spectators and reporters were corralled a block away in a safe zone. Earlier he'd been informed the buildings surrounding the bank had been evacuated. The mayor had also called for an update and his ears were still ringing from the berating he'd received. According to the mayor things weren't proceeding fast enough. To which he replied, do you want fast results or dead hostages? The mayor hadn't been amused.

An officer brought him a cup of coffee, which he accepted gratefully. As he was drinking it, he saw the young FBI agent hovering over the sound tech in the van. Agent Sinclair was worried about his friends, but he'd tried to remain detached as he made several suggestions that might help. The one they tried first had been a failure. They knew the bank had surveillance cameras; if they could tap into the signal they could watch what was going on. However the bank robbers had disabled the cameras. Captain Harris walked over to the van and stepped inside.

"They finally answered the phone," he said, taking a seat next to Sinclair.

"And?" David asked eagerly.

"No demands or anything, just a threat."

"Of what?"

"That if we turn off the power he will kill one of the hostages," Captain Harris answered.

"Do you believe him?"

"Actually, I do," the SWAT commander answered.

"What could they be doing that they don't want you to turn off the power?" the tech asked.

David wondered the same thing. The bank vault might have an electrical lock, but they'd already been in there almost three hours, which was plenty of time to empty the vault. David sat chewing his lower lip when it suddenly hit him.

"The computers!"

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Charlie sat next to Don and listened as his brother talked to Terry. The two of them were trying to figure out what the robbers were up to. It was obvious they weren't interested in the money in the vault. The computer was the key to this robbery. Charlie knew all too well what information was kept on bank computers. As his brother and Terry talked Charlie leaned his head back against the desk and closed his eyes. The smell of bleach, used to clean the floor, was making him nauseous. He was just glad he wasn't as dizzy as he was before.

"How you doing, Charlie?" Terry asked.

"I'm fine, Don," Charlie said, smiling. He knew Don was the one to get Terry to ask.

"Told you he wouldn't be fooled," Terry teased.

"Okay, so shoot me, I was worried," Don said in defeat. "At least you look like you have a bit of color back."

"I'm fine, really," Charlie said opening his eyes. "What do we do now?"

"We?" Don asked, raising his eyebrows at his brother.

"Figure of speech."

"For now we do nothing," Don said. "We just have to wait to see what the robbers will do."

When the phone rang earlier Don had been sure Sergie wouldn't pick it up. He'd ignored the four previous times it had rung. Sergie was an enigma. He wasn't behaving like a typical bank robber. Being surrounded by cops also didn't seem to bother him. Don watched him end the conversation with whoever was in charge outside. The look on Sergie's face was one of determination as he walked towards them. Fritz watched him as well and came when Sergie jerked his head for him to follow. Don looked up as they stopped in front of them.

"Charles Eppes," Sergie said. "Or should I call you Professor Eppes?"

Charlie's eyes opened and he stared at Sergie. Don didn't like where this was going, and moved to cover his little brother. Terry also could feel the tension, but didn't know what she could do to prevent trouble.

"What do you want?" Don asked.

"Nothing from you," Sergie said. "It's what I want from your brother."

"Charlie isn't doing anything for you."

Things happened so fast that Charlie didn't know what was going on. Sergie punched Don while Fritz grabbed Terry, by the hair, and pulled her head back. Charlie was torn between whom he should help first. Terry had a gun pointed at her head and Don was spitting blood out of his mouth.

"Agent Eppes, what am I going to do with you?" Sergie asked shaking his head. "You don't seem to know how to keep your mouth shut. Now, Professor, I need something from you?"

"What could I do for you?" Charlie asked suspiciously.

"Don't be so naïve," Sergie scolded. "My last computer specialist seems to have met with an accident."

"With a bullet from your gun," Don said sarcastically.

"Fritz," Sergie said turning to his partner.

Fritz smiled in pleasure as he pulled Terry's hair and cocked the gun.

"No!" Charlie yelled, standing up and trying to move to Terry.

"I don't think so," Sergie said, grabbing his arm.

"I'll help you," Charlie said, looking at Sergie. "On one condition. You let the hostages go."

"Are you making demands?" Sergie growled.

Charlie was taken by surprise as a fist slammed into his gut. He doubled over, and dropped to the floor, as the air whooshed out of him. As he gasped for breath he could hear Don calling his name. When he thought he would pass out from lack of oxygen his lungs finally gulped in the air they craved. As he lay on the floor Sergie grabbed his hair and pulled his head back.

"I'm the one who makes the demands, Professor Eppes," Sergie said in a deadly voice. "Is that understood?"

All Charlie could do was nod his head.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

David wandered over to the table where they were handing out coffee and sandwiches. The police auxiliary had arrived an hour ago and started feeding all the officers around the bank. At first David hadn't wanted anything: just the thought of trying to eat something while his friends were being held hostage was nauseating. Captain Harris insisted he take a break anyway, so he figured he'd at least get a cup of coffee. It was almost dusk, and the sun was beginning to set, casting long shadows on the sidewalk. Things were quiet. Many of the spectators had gone home once they realized nothing exciting was going to happen. The reporters were still around hoping to get an exclusive. David just thought they were ghouls. As he was walking he heard someone calling his name; looking around, he noticed Don and Charlie's father behind the barriers. David rushed over and showed the police officer his ID.

"That gentleman's with me." The officer nodded and let Alan through. "Mr. Eppes."

"Alan, please, "

"What are you doing here?" David asked.

"Charlie and Don were supposed to be home an hour ago," Alan explained. "We were going to dinner. When they didn't show I just figured they were working late and I drove over to get them. Then I saw all the commotion, so I walked down."

"So you don't know what's going on?'

"No, I don't."

"There's no easy way to say this," David said, shaking his head. "Don and Charlie are being held hostage in the bank."

"They're _what_?"

"They just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time," David sighed. "We were going to lunch and Don needed some money. Terry and Charlie went with him."

"Terry's in there too?"

"Afraid so."

"Have the bank robbers made any demands?"

"No," David said, frustrated. "They just warned us not to turn off the power."

"That seems to be an odd request," Alan said, surprised.

"My guess is they need the power for the computers," David explained. "Charlie taught us that not only money is of value in the bank."

"Financial records," Alan nodded.

"Exactly," David said. "Let me introduce you to the man who's in charge of the operation."

David led Alan over to the SWAT van. Captain Harris was going over some blueprints of the bank with one of the snipers.

"Captain Harris, this is Alan Eppes," David said as they got closer.

"The father of your partners?" Captain Harris asked.

"Yes," Alan said holding out his hand.

"Sorry, but we don't need civilian's in the area," Harris said.

"Those are my sons in there," Alan said, angrily. "I'm staying. I won't be in your way."

"As soon as you are you are I'll have you removed."

"I'll vouch for him, Captain," David said.

"Alright," Harris agreed.

"So what's being done to get the hostages out?" Alan asked.

"Normally we would cut the power to the building," Harris reluctantly explained. "Make it uncomfortable for them."

"No lights and no air conditioner," Alan said nodding.

"But we were warned not to cut the power to the building."

"Yes, David told me," Alan said. "But you could still cut off their AC."

"He has a point," David said. "We aren't cutting off the power, so he still has the computers."

"You're still convinced they need the power to run the computers?" Harris asked.

"Yes, sir, I am," David nodded. "If they get Charlie to help them he can pretty much crack any code and get into any number of bank accounts."

"He's done it before," Alan added.

"Oh?" Captain Harris said genuinely surprised.

"Kidnapping case," David explained. "Charlie cracked the codes to Cayman Island accounts worth just a little under a billion dollars."

"Alright, we'll try it," Captain Harris said as he walked over to the building manager.

"Now all we can do is wait," David said.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Charlie was roughly picked up and dragged over to the computers. He could hear Don protesting and Terry trying to calm him. The thought of being separated from his brother was frightening. Charlie knew there wasn't much his older brother could do, but having him close was reassuring. As he was being dragged away Charlie felt something warm run down the side of his face. He put his hand up and felt blood. When Sergie had punched him Charlie had dropped to the floor never realizing he'd hit his head again. He felt lightheaded and a bit nauseous but knew he couldn't show this weakness to Sergie. A grisly scene greeted Charlie as they came in view of the computers. Mikey was slumped over one of the computers. The back of his head was blown away and large puddle of blood spread across the workstation.

Don watched helplessly as Sergie dragged Charlie away. When he had tried to go to him Fritz had knocked his feet out from under him. Terry was next to him in an instant, telling him to keep calm; that getting himself killed wouldn't help Charlie. Don didn't care. He knew Charlie would be overwhelmed by what he was about to see. Charlie had never seen anyone who'd been shot in the head and Don knew from experience it wasn't pretty. Don watched as Sergie dragged Charlie closer to the computers. He knew the instant Charlie saw the dead body: Charlie's faced drained of all color and he tried to back away. Sergie wouldn't let him and pushed Charlie closer. Don knew he had to do something.

"Sergie!"

Sergie looked up as he shouted. "What?"

"Let us come over there with Charlie."

"Why?" Sergie asked suspiciously.

"Look at him," Don said. Sergie looked at Charlie and knew he was going to panic. "I can keep him calm so he can work on the program."

"Frtiz, bring them over here."

Don scrambled to his feet followed by Terry. They moved to where Charlie was standing and Don stepped into Charlie's line of sight.

Sergie grabbed Don's arm. "Don't do anything stupid," he warned, and Don nodded.

"Hey Buddy," Don said, grabbing his brother's face in his hands. "Look at me."

"Don," Charlie said dazed. "I can't…"

"I know," Don said as he turned Charlie away from the body. Terry moved to Charlie's other side. "We're just going to use another computer, okay?"

Charlie nodded, and let Don walk him over to another computer. Sergie sent Fritz to watch the other hostages, then turned back to his hostages and saw Don hovering over his brother.

"Very touching," Sergie sneered. "Baby brother can't take the sight of blood."

"Scaring Charlie isn't the way to get him to do something," Terry warned.

"Really," Sergie said. "Well, I don't give a damn. Either he does what I want or one of you are the first to be killed."

"I'll do it," Charlie said timidly. "Just don't hurt anyone."

"Of course, Professor," Sergie laughed. "I won't hurt them, much."

"What do you want him to do?" Don demanded.

Sergie pulled a CD out of his pocket and handed it to Don. "Everything he needs to know is on there."

Sergie handed over the disc and took a seat on the desk behind Charlie. He motioned for Terry to take a seat and she did. Don watched as Charlie loaded the disc into the computer. There wasn't much Don could do to help Charlie but offer moral support. When the disc was loaded, complex equations appeared on the screen. Don watched as his brother leaned in closer and started to scroll down through the equations. When he was finished reading them Charlie's fingers started flying over the keyboard.

"This is going to work out very well," Sergie smiled.

Just as he said that the hum of the air conditioning stopped. Sergie jumped up figuring the cops had been stupid enough to call his bluff. When he saw the computer wasn't affected, however, he relaxed. So the cops were going to make things rough for them; so be it.

"Looks like they turned off the AC," Terry commented.

"Guess they figured it would get them to negotiate again," Don said.

"Well, they're wrong," Sergie said. "If Charlie is as good as I think he is it won't take him long to do what I want."

"Then you'll just let us go?" Terry asked.

"Something like that," Sergie smiled.

Terry could not get a handle on this guy. He was extremely sure of himself and wasn't going to let anything stop him. She knew he would have no qualms about killing them, but would consider it a waste of his time. The profiler in her tried to place him in a category but he didn't fit. She'd just have to wait and see what Sergie did next.


	6. Chapter 6

**Just want to say thanks to my beta's. Thanks Susan for giving my such great imput. Lee Ann thanks for all your help. Chris you like everything I write even if its bad ;-)**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Sergie smiled as he watched Charlie work. The professor was moving at a much faster rate then Mikey ever had. Pretty soon they'd be able to leave. He wondered where Calvin was. The third member of the crew had been sent to accomplish his task but wasn't back yet. The atmosphere in the bank was becoming strained. Once the air conditioner had been turned off the building had started to heat up. Even though the sun had gone down, LA in August was still hot. Fritz was becoming more irritated and harassing the hostages. One of the men had gotten brave when Fritz started picking on one of the woman, and that gentleman now sported a black eye. Sergie turned when he heard someone come up behind him.

"Well?"

"It's done," Calvin said. "We're all set."

"Good," Sergie said, turning back to the computer. When he did he noticed something wrong. The screen had gone blank.

Charlie had to concentrate. The smell of blood was distracting and he knew if he dwelled on it he'd never be able to finish what Sergie wanted. The program was so simple he didn't understand why Mikey had such a hard time finishing it. Charlie had completely blocked everything out when reality came crashing down. Sergie jerked him out of the chair and started shaking him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" Sergie yelled.

"Leave him alone!" Don exclaimed, trying to come to his brother aid. Calvin grabbed his arm to hold him back.

"What did you do, Professor?" Sergie asked, in a deadly voice.

"I don't understand," Charlie said, confused.

"Sergie, listen to me," Don demanded. "Charlie didn't do anything. It's the computer."

"What are you talking about?" Sergie asked.

"Charlie's used to a computer with a much faster key stroke," Don explained, struggling in Calvin's grip. "The computer just needs to catch up."

Sergie looked back at the computer and could see the cursor blinking. After a few seconds the data started streaming across the screen again. He savagely dropped Charlie back in the chair. Don watched in concern as Charlie slumped over one of the arm rests.

"Let me talk to him," Don said. "He just needs to go slower. If he doesn't the computer will crash."

"Fine," Sergie agreed. "Just remember, I'll have a gun on your lady friend."

Don looked at Terry, who nodded for him to go. He moved to his brother's side and helped him sit up. Charlie sat blinking and trying to orient himself.

"Charlie, you with me?" Don asked, seeing the dry blood matting his brother's hair.

"Yeah I'm with you," Charlie said. "But I sure do have a headache."

"I know, Buddy. Do you think you can finish the program?"

"But it is finished," Charlie said confused.

"What did you say, Professor?" Sergie asked.

"I finished it," Charlie said, looking at Sergie.

"He did it?" Calvin asked as he watched Sergie check the computer.

"I knew you could do it, Professor," Sergie said, smiling.

"Now you can hold up your end of the bargain," Charlie demanded. "You can let us go."

"Making demands again," Sergie laughed. "What ever made you think I'd hold up my end of the bargain. Fritz! Get the hostages on their feet and moving towards the vault."

Calvin went to help Fritz as Sergie motioned for Terry to join the brothers. Terry helped Don get Charlie to his feet and they were herded to the vault with the rest of the hostages. They were all pushed inside and the doors were closed behind them. Sergie smiled as he turned the handle locking the hostages inside.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Alan was starting to get worried. Captain Harris hadn't been able to make contact with the bank robbers in hours. The Mayor had come down and demanded Harris get the job done or he'd find someone else to do it for him. Alan had been impressed with the way Captain Harris had handled the mayor, but they seemed to be at an impasse concerning the robbers. There were still no visuals inside the bank and no way of knowing where the hostages were. Sending in an assault team in this situation could get messy. Captain Harris was prepared to wait them out.

Alan wasn't as patient. Those were his sons in there and he wanted them out alive. David was also impatient for something to happen. Alan knew David felt guilty about not being inside with the others. With nothing else to do Alan wandered over to get another cup of coffee. While he was there he noticed a commotion over by the SWAT van. The coffee was forgotten as Alan went to talk to David.

"What's going on?"

"Sergie called and said he was finished and that we could enter the bank."

"And you believe him?"

"Not exactly, but Harris is going to check it out."

"Hopefully this will be over soon," Alan said.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

The temperature inside the vault was stifling. Not only was the AC off but the fans to circulate the air were also not working. At least they had lights. Don wasn't sure if the hostages would have been as calm sitting in total darkness. The vault was pretty big, so at least they weren't cramped. The bank manager had told Don there was no way to open the vault once it was closed for the night. As at most banks, the vaults automatically locked at night and couldn't be opened again until morning, unless an override was arranged from the security company. So now all they had to do was wait. Eventually the police would make the decision to storm the bank.

"We have to get out!"

Don turned to see one of the woman hostages starting to panic. Terry walked over to her and took her hands.

"We're safe in here," Terry assured her.

"But there's no air," she cried. "We'll suffocate!"

"No we won't," the bank manager said. "The vaults aren't air tight. Just because the fans aren't going doesn't mean there isn't any air."

"Are you sure?" one of the men asked. "I mean you can't even open this thing and let us out."

"I told you why I can't," the bank manager said.

"Yeah I know what you told us, I just think your lying," the man said pushing the manager.

"Enough!" Don yelled as he stepped between the two men. "There's no telling how long we might be in here. We're just going to have to stay calm."

Everyone seemed to calm down after Don took charge. The hostages were more then willing to let someone tell them everything would be okay. Don went back over to the vault door and slid down the cool metal to the floor. Terry stayed with the woman who seemed to be a bit claustrophobic. Don turned to his brother and saw he'd wedged himself in the corner, with his knees drawn up and his head leaning against them.

"How you holding up, Charlie?"

"I'm fine," Charlie mumbled. "But I can't stay here."

"Well you don't have a choice," Don chuckled.

"You don't understand!" Charlie exclaimed as stood up and swayed. "I have to get out."

"Charlie, what's going on?" Don asked, getting to his feet and grabbing his brother.

"I put a trace in the program," Charlie said. "But if I'm not there I'll lose it."

"I don't understand," Don said confused.

"In the program," Charlie said, rubbing at his left temple. "It can track them."

Don grabbed his brother's hands, knowing Charlie was having a hard time explaining what he meant.

"Charlie, are you saying you put something in the program, that Sergie gave you to trace the money?" Terry asked.

"Yes!" Charlie exclaimed. "As soon as he starts transferring the money from the accounts my trace will go live and I can track where he deposits the money. Then whenever he goes to take it out you can get him."

"That's great, Charlie," Don said.

"But it's not! Not if I can't get out of here before he starts the transfers."

Don was about to tell his brother everything would be fine when the door to the vault started to open. All the hostages got to their feet and moved back along the wall. Don moved in front of Charlie, who was more then happy to let his brother protect him. An LAPD assault officer stepped into the cell and looked around.

"Special Agent Don Eppes," Don called as he put up his hands. "We're just hostages."

"Clear," the officer said into his mic

That was all Charlie needed to try to bolt out the door. Don grabbed him and held him close as they all moved out together. Once outside the vault Don could smell the tear gas used during the assault. The bank was crawling with cops and that was why Don hadn't let Charlie bolt out of the vault. They were all ushered outside.

"Don," Charlie pleaded.

"I know, Charlie, hold on," Don said.

"Don!"

Don turned when he heard a familiar voice. "Guess we're a little late for lunch," Don teased as he saw David.

"A little," David smiled.

"Who's in charge?" Don asked.

"Over this way," David said as he led them over to the SWAT van.

As they got closer Don saw a familiar figure standing by the van.

"Dad?"

"Donnie," Alan said when he saw his oldest. He looked at his youngest and gasped. "Charlie!"

"It's not as bad as it looks," Don said as he kept his arm around Charlie and led him over.

"Don, this is Captain Harris," David said.

"Captain, I know this is going to be a bit irregular," Don said. "We have to get my brother back to the federal building. He can track these robbers."

"I guess you know they weren't inside when we entered."

"Figured as much," Don said. "They had to have an escape plan."

"You said your brother can track them," Harris said skeptically.

"I'll stay and explain everything," Don promised. "Let my partners take him back so he can get started."

"Agreed," Harris said.

"Charlie, go with Terry and David," Don said. Charlie nodded and stepped away from his brother. "Dad, you go with them."

His father nodded and Don watched as the four of them moved away. Turning back to Captain Harris he started to explain what happened inside the bank.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Don entered the elevator and leaned against the wall completely drained. It had taken over an hour to talk with Captain Harris. During that time the officers inside the bank had discovered the robbers escape route. It had been an elaborate plan that Don could admire for its ingenuity, but the fact that two people were killed tempered his admiration. As he rode the elevator his stomach growled reminding him he hadn't eaten since breakfast. Not only was he hungry he was tired, glancing at his watch he saw it was only 8:00pm. On a normal day he'd stay until later, but tonight he just wanted to go home. He knew that wasn't going to happen until Charlie finished what he was doing. The elevator dinged and Don reluctantly pushed away from the wall as the doors opened. Don slid his magnetic ID in the door and joined his partners in the bullpen.

"Don," Terry called when she saw him.

"What's up?"

"Been going through the mug shots to see if our guys are in there. Nothing so far."

"Good, anything else?"

"Yeah you'd better go deal with Charlie."

"Why, what's wrong?"

"I'm worried about him. He came right back here and started working on the computer. We tried to get him to eat something but he wouldn't. He also won't let anyone near him to clean the cut on his head."

"Damn, I was afraid of this," Don scowled. "My Dad have any luck with him?"

"Charlie yelled at him," Terry answered. "Your father's pretty worried."

"I'll take care of it," Don said, heading for the computer room. "We got anything to eat? I'm starved."

"I'll bring you something."

"Bring something for Charlie too. I'll make him eat it."

Terry knew that tone of voice. Usually it was heard when Don interrogated a suspect. Most of them gave Don what he wanted when he used that tone. She knew Charlie didn't stand a chance.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Don stopped inside the doorway to the computer room and shook his head. Charlie was hunched over one of the terminals typing at a frantic rate. One of the bureau computer techs was sitting to Charlie's left trying to scan the screen as the data scrolled by. On his other side sat their father. Don knew his father had the patience of a saint when it came to his brother, but even saints had a breaking point.

"Tom," Don called, and the tech turned from the screen. "Why don't you go take a break?"

"Yes, sir," Tom said walking to the door.

Don stopped Tom at the door. "Do you know what Charlie's doing?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," he nodded. "But I could never do it as fast as he is."

"Just as long as you understand it. I'm going to need your help on this, so don't go too far."

"No problem," Tom said and exited the room.

Once Tom was gone Don walked over to his father and put his hand on his shoulder. Alan turned pleading eyes to his oldest son.

"Maybe you can talk some sense into this stubborn brother of yours."

"I think I can get him to see things my way," Don replied as he reached past his father for the first aid supplies.

Alan nodded and relinquished his chair to Don. Sitting down next to his brother Don finally got a good look at the wound on Charlie's right temple. The fluorescent lighting showed Don that the cut was worse then he had thought at the bank. The blood ran down the side of Charlie's face and was matted in his hair.

"Now you see why I'm so worried," Alan commented.

"Honest, dad, it didn't look this bad in the bank."

Don grabbed some gauze pads and poured a liberal amount of alcohol on it. Leaning closer to Charlie he decided to try to tackle the dried blood next to Charlie's ear. At first Charlie didn't even pay attention to what Don was doing. That was until Don had to scrub harder to get the blood off. Charlie kept pulling his head away and Don was forced to grab his head to hold it still.

"Ow!" Charlie protested and smacked Don's hand away.

"Sorry, Buddy, it has to be done," Don said, taking a tighter hold.

Charlie started fighting harder as Don continued to clean the cut. He was finally forced to let go or hurt his smaller brother.

"Charlie, enough!" Don exclaimed grabbing his brother's arms. "Look at me!"

"Do want me to get this done or not?" Charlie protested trying to pull away. "If they start moving the money before I can finish loading the program we'll lose them."

"I don't care about the robbers!" Don yelled. "You're hurt and should be at the hospital not here working on a damned math problem!"

"Yeah, but I want them," Charlie said angrily.

"So do I," Don admitted. "But I'd prefer not to get blood all over the computers if you don't mind."

"It stopped bleeding awhile ago, Don," Charlie argued.

"Humor me," Don said, grabbing Charlie's head and continuing where he left off.

Charlie sat quietly while Don finished cleaning the blood off his face. The blood matting his hair would have to wait until later. Don was more concerned about cleaning the wound and Charlie flinched as the alcohol hit the open cut. Don grimaced in sympathy as he continued to work. Once the cut was cleaned Don could see it probably could use a couple of stitches.

"Okay, Charlie, I'm done," Don said but stopped his brother before he could turn back to the computer. "You have to promise me something."

"What?"

"When you're done you go to the hospital."

Charlie nodded and Don let him go. He watched as Charlie continued like nothing had happened. Don flopped back in the chair and rubbed his tired eyes. Alan stepped behind his oldest and massaged his neck.

"Sorry, Dad, it's the best I can do."

"It's enough," Alan assured him. "Once he's done I'll take him straight to the hospital. Why don't you go get something to eat?"

"Terry was going to bring something."

Just as Don mentioned her Terry walked in the door. She was carrying a plate of sandwiches and a couple of sodas. When she saw Charlie was still typing at the computer she looked at Don and shook her head.

"What?" Don asked as he took the plate from her.

"Thought you were going to deal with Charlie. Not let him keep typing."

"I cleaned the cut. What more can I do?"

"Get him to eat something."

"Could you all just be quiet?" Charlie protested. "Better yet, could you all just leave."

"We'll leave if you eat something," Terry said, blackmailing the mathematician.

"Fine," Charlie said and held out his hand. Don handed him a sandwich and he took a bite. "Happy now?"

"Yes," Terry said.

"Now go!"

"All right, Charlie, we're going," Don said and ushered Alan and Terry towards the door. "But I'm going to send in the computer tech. I want him to see what you're doing."

"Fine, as long as he keeps quiet."

Don left the room and saw Tom waiting not too far away. He waved him over.

"So explain this program to me," Don said. "I want to know you can handle it when Charlie's finished."

"It's ingenious," Tom said. "Charlie added a tag to the data stream so when they start transferring the money it can be tracked."

"What if they transfer it to several different banks?"

"It's not a problem," Tom assured him. "The tag will show where it's going no matter what. Once it starts it can't be turned off because they won't even know its there."

"Can't you finish what Charlie's doing?"

"Charlie's still loading a program that's basically in his head. I understand what the program will do once he's finished but I can't help him right now."

"So you'll be able to run the program and track the money once he's finished."

"Yes, sir." Tom said, smiling. "This Sergie guy was smart, but Charlie was a whole hell of a lot smarter."

Don sent Tom in to watch Charlie while he joined the others in the bullpen. Terry was on the computer scrolling through the mug shots on the FBI database. David was sitting with his dad.

"So, Don, did Harris figure out how they got away?" David asked.

"Yeah," Don answered. "Calvin, one of the robbers, blew a hole into the building next door. The basement next door has a sewer pipe below it. Calvin blew a hole in that and they made their escape."

"They could have come out anywhere," Alan said.

"They must have been planning this for months," Terry added.

"Yeah, well, they never planned on Charlie," Don smiled.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Don rolled over in the bed and cringed as a beam of sunlight crossed his eyes. Slowly opening his eyes, Don found himself in his room at Charlie's house. Sleep had abandoned him and he rolled over to see the clock: 8:00am. Rubbing his eyes as he stood up and stretched. Looking around the room he noticed clothes lying out on the chair. _Wonder when I left those _he thought as he grabbed them and headed for the shower. As Don walked to the bathroom he could hear his father in the kitchen. Don turned on the shower and stepped inside as he stood in the stream he thought about last night. When Charlie was finished the program they had taken him to the hospital. Don didn't remember all of it because he had dozed in the waiting room while Charlie was being checked out. When the doctors had finished with his brother they had come back to the house. The youngest Eppes had stumbled up to his room and collapsed on his bed and was asleep before his head hit the pillow. Don, on the other hand, had grabbed a beer and kicked back on the couch watching some TV. He couldn't even remember going upstairs.

Twenty minutes later Don stepped out of the bathroom and headed for the stairs. As he passed Charlie's room he was surprised to see his brother still sound asleep. Don chuckled as he saw the shambles Charlie made of his bed. Even in sleep his brother was never still. When they were kids Don remembered going camping and sharing a tent with Charlie. It had been a disaster, with his younger brother rolling over him and kicking him while they slept. Don stepped into the room and watched him sleep. It dawned on him that he could have lost his brother yesterday in the bank. The blow to his head wasn't severe, but the doctor did say Charlie had a minor concussion and should rest for the next few days. The cut also required five stitches, which he hadn't liked at all, considering he hated needles. As Don watched, Charlie moaned and he moved closer to the door. All he needed was his brother to wake up and find him hovering; he'd never hear the end of it. Charlie didn't wake as he rolled over to his other side.

"That's gotta hurt," Don commented when he saw the right side of Charlie's face.

"Yup, that's one hell of a shiner."

Don turned to see his father standing behind him. "Hell, dad, that's worse then a black eye. The whole side of his face is one big bruise."

"Yeah, well, your brother's tougher then he looks." Alan turned and headed for the stairs. "What can I get you for breakfast?"

"Don't drive yourself crazy," Don said, taking one last look at Charlie before he followed their father.

"It's no bother," Alan assured his son.

Fifteen minutes later Don was sitting with his father finishing breakfast and lingering over a cup of coffee.

"So what's your plan to get Charlie to take it easy?"

"Oh I'm sure I'll think of something, but I think it's time you got to work."

"I'll come over for supper."

"Maybe I'll keep Charlie occupied by teaching him to cook."

"Then I'll bring over take out."

Don heard his dad chuckle as he grabbed his keys and went out to his Suburban.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

The traffic wasn't as bad as Don had anticipated and he arrived at the FBI headquarters at 10:00 a.m. As he came into the bullpen he could see the flu was still keeping them understaffed. The first place Don went was the computer room to check on Charlie's program. Entering the room he saw that Tom had gone home and another tech was in his place.

"Hey, Mike, any activity on the bank heist?"

"Nothing yet," Mike said, turning from another computer he was working on.

"All right, but let me know as soon as anything happens."

Mike nodded as Don left the room. Don greeted the other agents as made his way to his desk. Terry was nowhere to be seen but David was on the phone. Sitting at his desk Don logged onto his computer and got back to work on the case he'd been working on before going out yesterday.

"Hey," Terry said, walking over to Don's desk and sitting on the corner.

"Been able to find anything on our robbers?"

"Worked with the sketch artist this morning. Figured it would be faster then trying to look through all the mug books."

"Let me see what you've got."

Terry handed Don the sketches. She watched as he flipped through them. Calvin's picture was on top and he nodded in satisfaction. Fritz was next and Terry could see the muscles along Don's jaw bunch as he ground his teeth. Sergie's picture was last, and Terry saw the pure hatred in Don's eyes.

"Those are great," Don said, handing them back to her. "You sent them out to all agencies?"

"Yup," Terry nodded. David had joined them and Terry handed him the pictures. "How's Charlie?"

"He has one hell of a bruise on his face," Don sighed. "This morning it's a spectacular color purple."

"Did he need stitches?" David asked.

"Five," Don answered. "Doctor said he had a minor concussion and that he should take it easy for a few days."

"How's your dad going to manage that?"

"I'm sure my dad will think of something,"

"All he has to do is give Charlie some paper and he's all set," Terry said.

"Better yet, some white boards," David added.

"Doing math problems isn't taking it easy," Don argued.

"For your brother it is," Terry said, getting up off the desk and heading for hers.

"You know, you're right," Don said, shaking his head.

The rest of the morning was spent going over different case files. With the Bureau short because of everyone being sick they were going through the cases and just concentrating on the ones that were the most serious. Don had been stuck with a lead for a possible passport counterfeit ring. United States and European passports sold on the black market for thousands for dollars in Asia. Don flipped through some papers on his desk and pulled out two passports that had been sent over from customs. They were damned good, and Don was hard pressed to find the mistakes. They were going to need a forger for this. Don pulled his PDA out of the desk and opened his phone book. He knew just the right person.

"Don."

Terry just smiled as she poked her partner to try to get his attention. This was one thing the two brothers had in common. Once they got their mind set on a problem you had to try hard to get their attention.

"Don!" Terry yelled, punching his arm.

"What!"

"Lunch," Terry laughed when Don gave her a murderous glare.

"It's lunch already?" Don asked, looking at his watch.

"Yup."

"Do you mind if we call something in?"

"Afraid to go out?"

"Let's just say I don't want to push my luck."

Terry laughed and gestured over her shoulder to the conference room. "David brought back pizzas."

"Perfect," Don smiled and followed his partner.

Don sat down and pulled the pizza box towards him. Flipping it open he found the pizza was loaded with everything. He grabbed two slices and dug in.

"So is anybody as frazzled as I am?" David asked.

"I am," Terry said. "Going through and deciding which cases to concentrate on is kinda difficult."

"Wonder if we can get any help?" David asked.

"Actually Merrick put in a call for more bodies," Don said. "Might help to relieve some of the pressure."

"That'll help," Terry said.

"This is damned good pizza," Don said taking another bite.

"At least we don't have Charlie here stealing all the pepperoni," David laughed.

"Speaking of Charlie, I better call my dad," Don said wiping his hands and pulling his cell phone off his belt

"Eppes residence."

"Hey dad, I was just calling to see how Charlie's doing."

"He's fine."

"Has he been driving you crazy?"

"No, he's up in the solarium working on some equations for Larry."

"I thought he was supposed to be relaxing!" Don protested.

"He's doing math," David said to Terry.

"Hey, we told him that's what Charlie would do. Did he believe us?" Terry replied. Don just gave them a dirty look and Terry laughed.

"Dad, he should be on the couch watching TV or something."

"Charlie's fine, Don."

Don just sighed as his dad told him to hold on a second. Don could hear Charlie calling from upstairs and a few minutes later Charlie got on the phone.

"Hey, Don."

"Dad says you're working a problem for Larry."

"Yeah, I am," Charlie said enthusiastically. "It deals with Quantum physics."

"That's great, Charlie," Don said cutting him off. "But shouldn't you be resting?"

"I'm all right," Charlie protested.

"Uh huh."

"Okay, so it hurts some," Charlie admitted.

"Yeah, I figured it did," Don scowled. "I want you…"

"Agents Eppes!" Don jumped when Mike barged into the conference room. "They're moving the money!"

"Charlie, I have to go!"

"Don, what's going on?"

"Your programs working. They're moving the money."

"I'll have dad drive me over!" Charlie said excitedly.

"No!" Don yelled as he got up and followed Mike "You stay put!"

"But Don!"

"No buts, Charlie," Don said. "I'll tell you what happens tonight at dinner."

Terry watched as Don hung up. "He's not going to be happy."

"What part of rest doesn't he understand?" Don said, exasperated, as they walked into the computer room.

"It's another trait the two of you have in common," Terry said

"Whatever," Don commented as he leaned over Mike's shoulder. "So what do we got?"

"So far the program is taking money out of various accounts in small amounts," Mike began.

"So the banks don't get suspicious," Terry assumed.

"Right," Mike nodded.

"How much can they get?" David asked.

"Millions," Mike answered.

"But it has to be a reasonable amount that a bank can cash," Terry mused. "They just can't waltz into a bank and cash, say, twenty million dollars."

"They can if they put it in the right bank," Don said. "A large bank that deals with multi billion dollar clients could easily handle it."

"They could, but I don't think they'll do that," Mike said.

"Why?" Don asked.

"Because they'd -" Mike didn't get to finish as the program beeped. "Okay, they finished with the accounts. Let's see where they put the money."

"How much did they take?" Terry asked.

"Five million."

"That's all?" David asked, confused.

"I have a feeling they planned on doing this more then once," Don said. "With Charlie's program they could rob any number of banks."

"You're sure they have Charlie's program?" Terry asked.

"Harris' crew didn't find the disc in the bank," Don said.

"Here we go," Mike said. "Looks like they're splitting the money into three banks."

Don watched as the numbers scrolled across the screen. Finally they settled and Don could see two million had been deposited in two different banks and three million into a third.

"Get me the names and numbers for those banks," Don ordered.

Mike typed a few commands and the addresses appeared. "There ya go."

"Terry, David -"

"We're on it," Terry said as she took the printout from Mike.

Don stood up and smiled. "Way to go, Charlie."

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

That evening Don pulled up to the house feeling great. He couldn't wait to tell Charlie his program worked. Then again Charlie wouldn't be surprised, because his math was never wrong. Don walked into the house and could hear his father in the kitchen. He walked passed the dining room and noticed everything was set for dinner. Alan came out of the kitchen and saw his eldest son.

"Donny, I didn't hear you come in."

"Hey, dad," Don said as he walked passed his dad and into the kitchen. "You want a beer?"

"Sure."

Don came back to the living room and dropped onto the couch. He handed his dad a beer and popped the top on his. Taking a swig he looked around the living room. He didn't see any papers and wondered where his brother was.

"He's out back," Alan said.

"What's he doing outside?"

"I kicked him out of the solarium," Alan explained. "It was a beautiful day so I made him go outside."

"Good, I'm glad he decided to relax."

"What Charlie, relax? He took his lap top out there and continued working."

"Dad!"

"Don't Dad, me. Charlie was out there for about an hour when he fell asleep."

Don just rolled his eyes and grabbed the sports section of the newspaper on the couch. Alan checked his watch, then picked up his book. They had been sitting in companionable silence for twenty minutes when Alan stood up and told Don to get his brother for dinner. Don went out to the yard to find his younger brother, under the awning, sleeping on the lounge chair. Charlie's unruly hair was hanging in his eyes and Don thought it was about time he got a haircut. Reaching down and he shook Charlie's shoulder. Charlie mumbled and tried to shake off Don's hand.

"Come on, Charlie," Don said shaking him again. "Time for dinner."

"Don," Charlie said, blinking owlishly at him.

"Yeah, Don. Who did ya think it'd be?"

"Wasn't expecting you home so early, that's all."

"It's not that early," Don laughed. "You fell asleep."

"Oh," Charlie said and stood up. As he got to his feet he swayed and Don grabbed him.

"You okay?" Don asked in concern.

"Yeah, yeah," Charlie said shrugging off Don's hand. "I just stood up too fast."

Don followed Charlie into the house scowling. Sometimes his brother could be a stubborn pain in the ass. Charlie sat at the table while Don went to help bring in the food.

"I made your favorite," Alan said, smiling at his youngest.

"Thanks, Dad," Charlie said as he scooped some macaroni and cheese onto his plate. "So the program worked?" Charlie asked helping himself to a chicken leg.

"It worked great, Charlie."

"So what do we do now?" Charlie asked eagerly.

"We eat, that's what we do," Alan admonished. "The case can wait until we're done."

"Yes, Pop," Charlie said, rolling his eyes.

Alan reached over and poked Charlie. Charlie smiled and Don noticed it was rather lopsided. His younger brother was trying hard not to use the muscles on the right side of his face. Don ground his teeth thinking about what Sergie did. Now came the hard part, waiting.


	9. Chapter 9

Terry sat on a bench across the street from the Wells Fargo Bank on Wilshire Blvd reading the newspaper. She glanced up to see David walking along the sidewalk, in front of the bank, talking on the phone. Don was sitting in a car around the corner. Three days ago Charlie's program showed two million dollars being transferred to this bank. Terry had contacted the bank manager and explained what was going, and asked him to inform them if anyone called to make a withdrawal. The day before, the bank manager had called and said arrangements had been made to cash out the money today. The last time they had staked out a bank it had ended badly, with one agent killed in the line of duty. This time, Don had placed twice the number of agents outside the bank. There were also two agents inside the bank. Terry took a deep breath and tried to relax. Glancing around, she saw a figure she thought was familiar. She watched as he got closer and could see it was Fritz. Terry opened her cellphone pretending to make a call.

"Suspect is just came around the corner passed David."

"Confirmed?" Don asked.

"Yes," Terry said. "It's Fritz."

"I see him," David said. "He's armed."

"Okay, people, look sharp," Don instructed.

Terry watched as Fritz headed for the bank. Don told everyone to let Fritz get the money before they took him down. It was going to take the bank a few minutes to finish the transaction, and Terry watched as her fellow agents started to go on guard. The gestures were subtle but she knew what to look for. An agent sitting at a table turned so he was facing the door. Two female agents walking together stopped at the corner of the bank to talk. Don left the car and took up a position around the corner from the door. David moved across from Don and continued talking on his phone. Terry could see that when Fritz exited the bank he would be surrounded.

"He's coming out." The agent in the bank said.

Terry put the paper in her lap to cover her H&K pistol. Fritz exited the bank and Don let him pass. Terry saw Don give a slight nod.

"FBI! Freeze!"

The adrenaline rush coursed through Terry as she pulled her gun and joined the other agents across the street. She had warned Don that this was the one robber who might do something stupid. She could see Fritz was truly thinking of going for his gun.

"Don't do it!" Don ordered. "Put the bag down and lace your fingers behind your head!"

Fritz turned to look at Don and cursed. He slowly put the bag down and raised his hands over his head. He slowly moved his hands together and laced his fingers behind his head.

"Get down on your knees!" Don instructed. "And cross your ankles!"

Don kept his gun trained on Fritz as he complied. Once he was down on his knees Don signaled for David to move in while Don kept him covered. David returned his gun to his holster and approached Fritz cautiously. When he was close enough David grabbed Fritz's right wrist and cuffed it then swung his left hand down and closed the second cuff around his wrist. When he was secure David reached down to remove the gun from Fritz's pants.

"Clear!" David yelled as he held out the gun.

Terry lowered her gun and replaced it back in its holster. She flexed her fingers as she approached the others and could hear Don giving compliments to all the agents. He handed the money to one of the other agents as they walked Fritz to the car.

"How the hell did you know!" Fritz demanded.

"We're the FBI, we know everything," David said as he pushed Fritz into the back seat and closed the door.

"I thought it was the CIA that knew everything," Terry teased.

"What, the Cooking Institute of America?" Don smirked.

"Well that's one down," David said. "Wonder if he'll give up the other two?"

"I doubt it," Terry said. "Fritz may be the least stable of the crew, but he's the most loyal to Sergie."

"I agree," Don nodded. "We'll have to wait until each of them go for the cash."

"Charlie's going to be pleased," Terry smiled. "How's he doing?"

"He went back to work today," Don said. "When I dropped him off at the school Larry had a fit when he saw the bruise."

"That bad?" David asked.

"Not only is it purple," Don said. "It's getting that greenish look as well,"

"Not pretty," Terry cringed.

"Let's get this piece of shit back to headquarters," Don said, and headed for the driver's door.

David headed off to another car and drove back with the other agents as Terry slid into the passenger seat. The drive back was uneventful except for Fritz complaining the whole ride. Once they were back Don deposited Fritz in an interrogation room, and then left the suspect there to stew for a bit while he went to get some coffee.

"So do you want to sit in on the interview?" Don asked Terry as he sipped his coffee.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Terry smiled.

"David, I want you to watch from the recording room," Don said.

"Sure thing," David said, following them to the interrogation rooms.

For the next three hours Don tried to get Fritz to tell him where Sergie could be found. Fritz wouldn't give him up, and Don was finally forced to admit defeat. They charged Fritz with murder, for killing the bank guard, and robbery. They returned to the bullpen, where David checked his messages as Terry and Don moved over to his desk.

"That went about as well as I expected," Terry said.

"I'm not too worried about it," Don said. "Calvin and Sergie will eventually go for their money."

"I don't know," Terry said doubtfully.

"What?"

"Calvin may go for the money, but Sergie will wait."

"Why do you say that?"

"Sergie is patient. He'll wait for things to die down."

"I hope you're wrong," Don said, rubbing his eyes. "I want him."

"I know you do," Terry said. "We'll just have to wait him out."

"Don," David said, walking over. "Just got off the phone with Bankers Trust. Someone has made arrangements to remove the two million tomorrow."

'That would be Calvin," Terry said.

"All right, gather the team," Don instructed. "We'll put together the plan for tomorrow."

Two hours later Don was pulling into the parking lot at CalSi. The rest of his day had been spent making plans for the take down tomorrow. When he was satisfied everyone was ready he'd told them to go home early and get a good night's rest. He wanted everyone fresh for tomorrow. Don got out of the Suburban and walked towards the math building. It was still early, and the campus was full of students. As he entered the building and made his way to Charlie's floor he was surprised at the quietness. His footsteps echoed as he made his way to Charlie's office. The door was open and Don stepped inside. Amita looked up as he walked in and put her finger to her lips. Don gave her a quizzical look and she pointed to Charlie's desk. Turning to look, Don could see his brother sprawled across the desk, sound asleep.

"I didn't have the heart to wake him," Amita said quietly.

"Rough day?" Don asked.

"He had to fill in for Professor Christian," Amita said. "His wife went into labor, so Charlie covered his three freshmen classes."

"Freshmen, huh?" Don laughed. "Poor Charlie, must have to switch gears to teach them."

"Yes," Amita laughed. "Sometimes he forgets and I have to bring him back down to earth."

"Yeah, well, Charlie can get pretty excited when he's talking about something he loves."

"Are you here to take Charlie home?"

"Actually I am."

"Good, because I have a study group to get to but I didn't want to just leave him here."

"Thanks Amita."

Don watched her go, then turned back to his brother. Charlie was asleep over some papers he had been grading. Shaking his head, Don shook Charlie's shoulder. He hadn't been prepared for Charlie to wake so abruptly and look around.

"Easy, buddy, it's just me."

"Don?" Charlie asked rubbing his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"Came to see if you wanted a ride home."

"I'd like that."

"Let me take that," Don said, grabbing the computer bag as Charlie went to swing it up on his shoulder.

"Thanks."

As they stepped out of the building a student ran up to Charlie and handed him a paper. Charlie took the paper and told the student not to bring it late next time. Don just smiled, wishing his professors had been as lenient as Charlie. When they got to the truck, Don put the computer in the back seat and then climbed behind the wheel.

"We got Fritz," Don said as they pulled out of the lot.

"That's great!"

"Bankers Trust called today and said arrangements were made to remove two million tomorrow. Terry thinks it's Calvin."

"She's probably right. Sergie would take the bigger cut."

"Yup, I agree."

Charlie bit his lip and turned to Don. "Nothing went wrong? Everything was okay?"

"Everything went perfect. No one was hurt."

"I'm glad," Charlie sighed. "Didn't want a repeat of last time."

"What happened with the Charm School Boys wasn't your fault, Charlie."

"I know, but it was my equation."

"Your equation just told us where they would strike next. It didn't pull the trigger."

"I still feel responsible in part."

"I know. So do I."

"Yeah, well, I hope Calvin goes down as easily as Fritz did."

"You and me both."


	10. Chapter 10

Sergie was furious. Two days ago he had sat outside a small café across the street from Bankers Trust. It wasn't hard for him to spot the undercover agents on the outside of the bank. They did little things to attract attention to themselves if you watched carefully. He'd warned Calvin to lay low and let the money sit, but no; he wanted his money now. Sergie had watched as Calvin exited the bank and was confronted by the FBI. The agent who shot Calvin was one Sergie recognized. Agent Eppes efficiently neutralized Calvin when he pulled his gun. After the shoot out, Sergie had gone back to his apartment and called Fritz. There was no answer and he assumed the FBI had him as well. At that point he knew he wouldn't be able to get his money by just walking into the bank; what he didn't understand was how the FBI knew where the money had been moved. It didn't take him long to realize that Charlie must have put a trace in the program. He'd underestimated the math professor, but not again. Sergie would get his money and revenge on the brothers.

So here he was, walking down the hall at the CalSi math building. For the past two days he'd watched Charlie to get a feel for his routine. At this time of day he knew the professor was teaching a class on the floor above. This was the perfect time for him to get into Charlie's office. When he got to the office he tried the handle and found it unlocked. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

Amita just shook her head as she made her way to Charlie's office. Sometimes she wondered how Charlie got anything done without her. He was always forgetting things he needed for class and she would have to run back to the office to get them. Today he'd forgotten the transparencies for the overhead. As she stepped into the office she gasped when an attractive blond with striking blue eyes surprised her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"That's all right. Professor Eppes is teaching a class. Can I help you with something?"

"Professor Eppes? I think I must have the wrong office. I was looking for Professor Conklin."

"Professor Conklin is Astrophysics. He's in the building next door."

"Thank you, again I'm sorry to have startled you."

Amita smiled as he left. She gathered the transparencies and left the office.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Charlie walked back to his office with Amita. The "Math for Non Math majors" was always a fun class for Charlie to teach. Okay' sometimes he got a little carried away and Amita had to bring him back to earth, but he knew he captured a few of the students' interest. As they entered the office they found Larry sitting at Charlie's desk.

"Hello, Charles," Larry said. "Amita, how are classes going?"

"They're fine, Dr. Fleinhardt," Amita answered.

"Larry, what are you doing here?" Charlie asked, dropping the papers on the desk.

"Came to see if you wanted to join me for lunch," Larry said. "It's a lovely day and I thought we could go sit out on the lawn."

"I don't know, I have a lot to do."

"Oh come on, Charlie, it will be fun," Amita said.

Before Charlie could protest Amita grabbed their lunches out of the fridge. She took Charlie's arm while Larry grabbed the other one and they pulled him out the door. As they made their way to the main lawn they could see others had the same idea. The area was full of people lying in the sun, eating lunch or just enjoying the beautiful southern California weather. They found a spot in the shade and got comfortable.

"Here ya go," Amita said handing Charlie his bag from the Deli.

"Thanks," Charlie said, pulling out his sandwich and looking at Amita. She was about to take a drink from her orange juice when Charlie stopped her. "Wait, that one's mine. I noticed we got the same thing this morning so I put my name on it."

"Thanks," Amita said as they switched.

"So, Charles, how go the classes?" Larry asked as he took a bite of his sandwich.

Charlie was taking a drink and stopped to answer Larry. "They're great. The students this year are really on the ball."

Larry talked with Amita while Charlie watched the other students. He finished the orange juice and grimaced at the odd flavor. Amita was telling Larry about some of the students in his advanced Calculus class.

"Yeah, one student stumped Charlie the other day." Amita said.

"You're kidding," Larry said in surprise.

Charlie just rolled his eyes. It hadn't been that funny, but Larry seemed to be amused by the incident. But it didn't mean they had to laugh at him. As Charlie turned back to Larry and Amita they seemed to be out of focus. They were laughing and pointing at him and he didn't like it. Charlie closed his eyes to try to clear his vision. When he opened them again he saw Larry leaning against Amita trying to catch his breath from laughing.

"Stop it!" Charlie yelled.

"Charlie, what's wrong?" Amita asked. "You thought it was funny yesterday."

"Really, Charles, it is funny." Larry said chuckling.

"You're right," Charlie said, rubbing his eyes. "It was funny. I just have a headache."

"So, stretch out in the sun," Amita suggested. "You don't have a class for another hour."

Charlie shrugged and decided to give it a try. It felt funny being out here when he had so much work to do. He sighed and tried to relax, except he couldn't. The noise outside was very distracting and Charlie decided to stare at the clouds.

Amita smiled when she looked over at Charlie. He seemed to be enjoying watching the clouds. They'd been out there for only twenty minutes and Amita felt completely rejuvenated. Larry had been right, this was a good idea. She was surprised when Charlie suddenly sat up. He looked wildly around then focused on Larry. She'd never seen that look on Charlie's face before.

"No!" Charlie screamed and punched Larry.

Amita was taken by surprise as Charlie smashed the glass Snapple bottle on the ground. The next thing she knew Charlie grabbed her and held the jagged edge of the glass against her throat.

"Charlie, you're hurting me," Amita said, scared.

"Shut up, bitch!" Charlie said, pressing the glass harder against her neck.

Larry sat up rubbing his jaw to see Charlie holding Amita from behind with a piece of glass at her neck. Charlie was holding the broken glass so tight in his hand that Larry could see blood running down his wrist. Larry didn't know what was going on but he could see they were attracting attention.

"Charles, please just calm down."

"Calm down?" Charlie yelled. "Don't you think I see what's going on!"

Larry looked around and could see Charlie's behavior was attracting the campus police. He needed to calm Charlie down before things got out of hand.

"Charles, talk to me," Larry said.

"They're always laughing. I can hear them but they don't think I can."

"We aren't laughing at you," Amita said.

"Shut up!" Charlie said squeezing her tighter.

Amita yelped in pain. She couldn't believe how strong Charlie was. His grip was so tight she could hardly move. Charlie had her right hand in his left, which was wrapped, tightly around her neck. She could feel something warm running down her neck and she was afraid.

"What's going on here?" one of the campus police said as he got closer.

"Just a misunderstanding officer," Larry said trying to diffuse the situation.

When the officer saw Charlie holding the glass against Amita's neck he placed his hand on his gun. Charlie saw him and backed away, causing Amita to cry out.

"Just hold it right there," the officer said. "Why don't you let her go?"

"Go to hell!" Charlie yelled.

"This is Officer Randall on the lawn by the math building. I need some back up. Possible hostage situation."

Larry knew calling for more police would only make things worse. There was only one thing to do.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

David followed Don back out to his SUV. They had come to see a forger about the fake passport Immigration and Naturalization had sent over. Normally INS would handle them but these particular passports were linked to a terrorist ring, which fell under FBI jurisdiction. After climbing into the SUV David flipped through some of the passports as Don pulled into traffic.

"I can't believe how many mistakes are in these," David commented. "If Reynolds hadn't shown us I never would have found them."

"Yeah, Jack is an incredible forger."

"Still, I can't believe how much work goes into making one of these."

"Yeah, I know."

Don drove for a few minutes when he's phone rang. David tried not to listen to Don's conversation, but he knew something was wrong from Don's tone of voice. He ended the conversation and stepped on the gas. David was surprised when Don turned on the lights and siren.

"What's wrong?"

"That was Larry," Don said, moving around a car that didn't get out of the way fast enough. "Something's wrong with Charlie. He said he's holding a piece of glass to Amita's neck and is acting crazy."

They were lucky that Reynolds' apartment had been close to the CalSi campus. David grabbed the roll bar above his head as Don made a sharp turn onto the campus. As they drove up they could see a group of people standing around on the lawn. Don slammed on the brakes and put the SUV in park. David scrambled to get out and followed Don. As they got closer they could see four campus police trying to move in on Charlie.

"Stay away!" Charlie screamed.

"Back off!" Don commanded as he stepped up next to one of the officers and showed his badge.

"We can handle this," the officer said.

"No you can't," Don said. "This isn't' the way you handle a hostage situation. Now back off!"

They did as Don asked, but didn't go far. Don looked at his brother and could see Charlie's eyes darting everywhere. He also noticed the blood on Charlie's hand and Amita's shirt.

"Easy, Charlie, everything's going to be okay," Don said, soothingly.

"Make them stop laughing!" Charlie demanded.

"I will," Don said, and motioned the officer over. "I want you to push all these people back." The officer reluctantly did as Don asked. David came over and stood next to Don.

"What do you think happened?" David asked.

"I have a pretty good guess," Don said, looking around for Larry. "Larry, what were you doing just before this happened?"

"We were just eating lunch," Larry replied.

"You think someone doctored his lunch," David said.

"Look at how Charlie's acting," Don said. "Paranoid, jumpy and delusional."

"Sounds like PCP," David guessed. "How do you want to handle this?"

"Move off to the left," Don instructed. "I'll try to talk with him."

"Right," David nodded.

"Larry, I need you to call an ambulance," Don said. Larry nodded and slowly moved away.

Don was scared. He'd dealt with criminals high on drugs and knew what it took to bring them down. He didn't think he could do that to his little brother. Charlie kept rapidly moving his head back and forth and Don looked behind him. The campus police were pushing the people back but Don knew they wouldn't go far. Just like at a car wreck, people just had to see what was going on. Don knew what was happening wasn't Charlie's fault but the spectators didn't. He could only guess what Charlie's peers were thinking. _Young prodigy cracks under pressure. _Don knew his brother would be mortified.

Don walked towards his brother and stopped about ten feet in front of him. "Talk to me, Charlie."

"Just make them stop," Charlie cried.

"I can do that," Don said as he slowly moved closer but stopped as Amita cried out. "But first you have to let Amita go."

"Why, so you can have her?" Charlie growled. "Don't think I haven't noticed."

"I just want to make sure she's safe. Don't you want that?"

"What's that!" Charlie cried out.

"What?"

"On your arm!" Charlie said, hysterically. "Don't let it come near me!"

Don wasn't prepared for Charlie to push Amita away from him. He grabbed her before she could fall, but he wasn't able to stop Charlie from slashing the glass down his left forearm. David tackled Charlie from behind and Don quickly moved in to help restrain his brother. The drug was making Charlie much stronger then normal.

"Sit on him!" Don yelled as he tried to grab the hand holding the glass.

David was finally able to pin Charlie, but it didn't stop the smaller man from struggling against them. Suddenly Charlie just stopped and went limp. David looked at Don in alarm.

"Charlie," Don called, grabbing his brother's chin. Charlie's unblinking eyes just stared straight ahead.

"What the hell's going on?" David asked as he got off Charlie. "I've never seen anyone act like this on PCP."

"I don't know," Don admitted.

Don was truly worried and hoped the ambulance got there quickly. He checked his brother's breathing and found it a bit rapid, along with his heart rate. Don didn't know what else he could do except try to control the bleeding. David was already trying to stop the bleeding on Charlie's forearm, while Don moved to take care of his right hand. Charlie was still clutching the glass in his hand and he had a hard time getting him to let it go. He finally pried it out of Charlie's grip and Don clenched his teeth when he saw the exposed bones. The ambulance arrived and the paramedics came over with their equipment. One of them took over from David and he stepped away. Don remained with his brother and talked with the paramedics.

"Are you okay?" David asked Amita.

She was sitting with Larry, who was holding his handkerchief against her neck. "I'm okay. How's Charlie?"

"I don't know," David said as he took a look at Amita's neck. "I think you'd better go to the hospital too."

"I'm okay," Amita argued.

"I'll take her," Larry said.

They watched as the paramedics loaded Charlie on a gurney and strapped him down. They headed for the ambulance and Don followed. Suddenly a student pushed his way over to the gurney and started taking pictures.

"What the hell are you doing!" Don said, grabbing the camera.

"Student papers going to love this," the student said.

"David, can you take care of things here?" Don asked as he pushed the "reporter" towards his partner.

"I got it covered." David assured him as he took the student's arm. "Larry's going to bring Amita over to the hospital."

"Good," Don said and followed his brother.

Larry watched as they loaded his friend into the ambulance. He helped Amita to her feet and started to walk away. He just hoped everything was going to be all right.


	11. Chapter 11

Sorry for the delay. I was on vacation then my beta was. So for the long wait you get two chapter instead of one ;-)

**Chapter 11**

Huntington Memorial's ER was in chaos. At least, that's what it sounded like to Don. The waiting room was filled with children screaming, people talking and some moaning. And under it all was a television set to CNN, declaring another day of tragedy in Iraq. Don paced up and down, the hall waiting for word on Charlie.

The ambulance had arrived ten minutes ago and quickly whisked his younger brother away. During the ride to the hospital Charlie hadn't moved or blinked his eyes. The EMT's had no idea what was going on so had just monitored him and bandaged Charlie's cuts.

Don truly hated hospitals. The antiseptic smell, the white walls and the general bustle made one feel insignificant. Ever since his mother had died, Don had tried to avoid being in hospitals. His dad hadn't wanted their mother to spend her last days in a hospital and Don had agreed with him. Against the doctor's orders they had taken their mother home, back to the house she had raised her family, to die in peace. Thinking about his mother made him realize that he hadn't called his dad. Don left the waiting room and stepped outside. He didn't go far, and had a clear view of the doctors coming in and out of the doors that read "no one beyond this point". If someone didn't come out soon, to tell him about Charlie, they'd find out how well that sign worked on him.

"Come on, Dad, pick up," Don urged into the phone. Finally the machine picked up but Don hung up without leaving a message.

"Don, how's Charlie?" David asked, coming up behind him.

"No word yet."

"Did Dr. Fleinhardt get here with Amita?"

"It's fine, see." Amita said, taking the gauze away from her neck. "It's not even bleeding any more. There's others in greater need then me."

"I'd feel better if they checked you," Don said.

"As would I," Larry said, coming back with the coffee."

"I'm fine," she said. "Any word on Charlie?"

"Nothing yet," Don said and resumed his pacing.

"Pacing won't make the doctors come out any faster," Larry said. "Take a seat and have some coffee."

"No, I'm good," Don replied then turned to David. "Campus police give you a hard time?"

"Not after I told them it was an FBI investigation since Charlie does work for us."

"How about that student reporter?"

"Told him the same thing," David smiled. "Except I warned him that if anything in his article hindered us in finding out what happened to Professor Eppes I'd march his ass right down to FBI headquarters."

"He'll still write something," Don sighed.

"Yeah but he'll think twice about making Charlie some crazed drug addict," David said.

"Still, Charlie's going to mortified when he finds out what happened," Don said.

"I believe Charles' peers will understand," Larry said.

Don turned to Larry and raised his eyebrows. "Are you so sure? I remember a lot of them thinking Charlie would burn out quickly or crack under the pressure."

"Not all of them," Amita said defending the school.

"We'll see," Don said, dropping the matter. "Amita, did you notice anyone suspicious hanging around Charlie's office?"

"Now that you mention it there was someone."

"What did he look like?"

"He was about six feet, blond hair and striking blue eyes."

"Is that all?" David asked.

"The only other thing I can say is that I thought he was hot looking," Amita said sheepishly.

"Would you recognize him again?" Don asked.

"Definitely," she said with conviction.

"David, do me a favor," Don said, leading David away from the others. "Call Terry and have her go over to the house. My dad's not answering the phone. He might be out back doing something and I want him to know about Charlie."

"Sure."

Don watched as David went out the doors. Leaving the hospital to check on his father wasn't an option right now. He had to wait to find out what drug was used on his little brother and try to figure out why. Thinking about all the possibilities got Don's mind working over time as he tried to link possible reasons why someone would drug Charlie. Resuming his pacing Don tried to unravel the mystery.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Terry pulled into Charlie's driveway and put the sedan in park. She liked coming to the house, since she had always been a fan of the craftsman style. Walking up to the front door she noticed it was ajar. This immediately put her on the alert and she pulled her gun as she cautiously entered the house. Terry wasn't prepared for what she found. The living room was a wreck. Furniture was turned over, and the coffee table Charlie used, as a desk was broken.

"Mr. Eppes!"

Terry warily made her way through the house looking for Don's father. The house was dark and quiet as she made her way to the kitchen. Everything looked normal here until she got to the back door, where she found the glass broken. As she got closer she could see the glass was on the floor inside, indicating to her that someone broke it from the outside. Terry eased the door open with her foot so she wouldn't smear any fingerprints. Walking out the door, she could see there was nothing wrong in the backyard. Making her way back to the living room, Terry proceeded upstairs. Finding nothing out of place on the second floor, Terry left the house and went back out to her car. Leaning on the hood she pulled out her cell and called the office to send down an Evidence Response Team to go over the house. After she hung up she tried calling Don. The phone rang but Don didn't answer. When she got the voice mail she hung up. She'd just have to wait for the ERT to get there before heading over to the hospital.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Larry watched as Don continued to pace. The movements reminded him of Charles and he smiled. Even though the brothers were very different in personalities and professions there were a few things that marked them as brothers. The frenetic pacing was a trait they both exhibited when frustrated. Larry knew Don was worried about his younger brother - they all were. Charlie had confessed to Larry that he'd always wanted to be more like his brother. More outgoing, popular and able to understand people better. Larry assured him that he was well-loved by his students and that he didn't have to compete with Don. When Charlie told him he had started working with his brother on FBI cases, Larry thought Charlie had been wasting his time. Now he knew he'd been wrong. Working together had brought them closer together and Larry could see how happy Charlie was.

"Dr. Fleinhardt?"

"Yes, Amita."

"This had something to do with Charlie helping the FBI, didn't it?"

"I believe it did," Larry admitted.

"Maybe you could convince Charlie to stop," Amita suggested.

"Oh, believe me, I did try," Larry said rubbing his face. "But now I see it was wrong to ask him."

"Why?"

"Charles' has expanded his horizons," Larry explained. "He's shown that math can be useful outside the walls of academia. It's also brought him closer to his brother."

"I just hope he's okay."

"He will be," Larry said as he glanced over at Don. "I just hope his brother doesn't blame himself for this."

Don glanced at his watch again and couldn't believe only ten minutes had gone by; it felt like they'd been there forever. As he was pacing, he felt the phone on his belt vibrate. He quickly pulled it out of its holder as he made his way outside.

"Agent Eppes."

"Hello, Agent Eppes."

"Who is this?"

"I'm hurt that you don't remember me. I saw you take Calvin out the other day."

"Sergie!"

"Very good," Sergie laughed. "Hope you've been having fun with Charlie."

"What the hell did you give him?" Don demanded.

"Oh, it's a wonderful little drug," Sergie replied. "He should be coming out of his K-hole about now."

"Shit!" Don cursed. "You gave my brother Special K!"

"I thought Charlie was too uptight and needed to let lose," Sergie chuckled.

"Why?"

"Why do you think?" Sergie said angrily. "I knew it wasn't you who came up with a way to track where the money was going."

"This was for revenge."

"Partly," Sergie said. "I want my money!"

"And you think drugging Charlie is going to get it for you?"

"Actually no, Charlie was just a diversion," Sergie answered. "I have someone here who would like to talk to you."

Don could hear shuffling through the phone and frowned. He could hear Sergie talking to someone but not what was being said.

"Donnie."

"Dad!" Don hadn't expected to her his father's voice.

"Donnie, what's going on?"

"Dad, everything's going to be okay!" Don assured him.

"Are you so sure?" Sergie asked as he came back on the phone.

"If you hurt him-"

"You'll do what?" Sergie asked, cutting him off. "I told you I want my money. I'll be in touch."

"Damn it!" Don yelled as Sergie hung up.

Drugging Charlie had been an excuse for Sergie to kidnap his father. Don rushed back into the hospital and straight for the forbidden doors. Before the nurses could stop him there was a scream of pure terror coming from down the hall. Don ran down the hall and burst into the room. One nurse was on the floor dazed while two orderlies and the doctor tried to hold Charlie down.

"The drug used on him was Ketamine!" Don yelled over his brother as he joined them in holding him down.

"Damn!" the doctor cursed. "Get those restraints on him!"

Don held down his brother as one of the orderlies quickly put Charlie's hands in the restraints and pulled them tight. Once his hands were secure they were able to get his feet. They let him go and Charlie twisted and pulled to get free.

"He's going to hurt himself," the doctor said. "Get the ones across his chest and hip as well."

Don stepped back and let them work. He hated to see his brother strapped down like an animal but it was for his own good. Once he was secured Charlie tossed his head back and forth, searching.

"Mom!" Charlie screamed.

Don quickly moved to his brother's side and grabbed his head. "It's okay, Charlie. Whatever you see it's, not real."

"Don!" Charlie cried. "You have to help Mom!"

"I will," Don said, but he didn't think his younger brother was listening to him.

As he held Charlie his younger brother screamed again and tried throwing his hands off. Don became alarmed when blood started seeping from Charlie's mouth.

"Doctor!" Don yelled.

"Looks like he bit his tongue," the doctor said when he saw the blood. He then injected something into Charlie's IV. "This should help."

The sedative took some of the edge off but Don knew it wouldn't keep the hallucinations from coming. He stepped back and let the doctor get a look at Charlie's mouth.

"He bit his lip," the doctor said. "It's going to need a couple of stitches."

"I've never seen anyone have this violent of a reaction to Ketamine," Don said, concerned.

"It's not unusual. I'm Dr. Peterson, by the way."

"Agent Don Eppes."

"Eppes?"

"Charlie's my brother," Don said. "How bad is he?"

"Not too bad right now," Dr. Peterson answered. "I'm just worried because of his recent head trauma."

"Why?" Don asked.

"Ketamine causes a rise in intracranial pressure," he explained. "Charlie sustained a slight concussion a few days ago so we'll have to monitor him closely."

"Good thing the effects only last a short time," Don said.

"I'm going to have to take care of that lip," Dr. Peterson said as he gathered what he needed.

"How's the nurse?"

"She's all right," Dr. Peterson said. "Charlie caught us by surprise. He doesn't look that strong."

Don sat next to his brother as the doctor approached. Charlie tried to move away as the doctor approached but the restraints held him in place.

"No! Don, don't let him near me!" Charlie yelled. "He'll kill me, like they did Mom!"

"No he won't Charlie," Don said. "He just wants to help."

"No!" Charlie cried.

"I think I better wait," Dr. Peterson said, stepping back. He handed some gauze to Don. "See if he'll let you get close enough to stop the bleeding."

Don took the gauze and turned back to his brother. Charlie watched his every move. Don moved closer talking quietly. He was glad when Charlie didn't pull away as he placed the gauze over the cut and applied pressure to stop the bleeding. As Don watched his younger brother all he could think about was what he was going to do to Sergie once he caught him.


	12. Chapter 12

Terry arrived at the hospital later then she had hoped. The ERT's got stuck in traffic and she had to wait for them to arrive. Once they were there, she had to go over everything with them. A lot of the furnishings and items in the house were antiques and Terry wanted to make sure the team understood this. As she walked towards the doors to emergency, she was still trying to figure out how she was going to tell Don about his father. The doors opened automatically as she approached and Terry noticed David pacing back and forth in front of Larry and Amita. From the expression on his face the profiler knew something was wrong.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Terry, where have you been?" David demanded.

"I'll explain later," Terry informed him. "Now, what's going on?"

"I don't know," David said, swiping his hand over his head. "Don got a call and took it outside. Next thing I know he's running in here. Then we hear a bloodcurdling scream from behind those doors."

Terry turned to look at the doors David pointed to. The 'no one beyond this point' meant little to her as she walked towards them. "I'm going to find out what's going on."

"I truly wish I was bold enough to walk through those doors," Larry said as they watched Terry disappear.

Terry walked down the hall and was stopped by a nurse. Showing her badge got her directions to Charlie's room. When she entered she was surprised to find Don sitting in the dark next to Charlie. Terry walked closer and stopped when Charlie looked at her and screamed.

"Easy, Charlie, easy," Don said, trying to calm his little brother. "It's only Terry."

"No, you bastards! Leave her alone!"

Terry was startled by the outburst as she watched Charlie start to struggle. That's when she realized he was strapped down to the bed. Don tried to soothe Charlie, but the younger man wasn't listening. He turned pleading eyes to Terry and she quickly moved to Charlie's other side.

"Shh, Charlie, it's okay," Terry said.

Charlie's head whipped in Terry's direction and her heart went out to the mathematician. The look of pure fear on Charlie's face was something she hoped she'd never see again. After a short time Charlie calmed, but his eyes never stopped moving.

"Don, what's going on?"

"It was Sergie," Don growled, which made Charlie flinch. "Sorry, buddy."

"Sergie drugged him? With what?"

"Ketamine."

"Damn," Terry sighed. "Now I know why you're sitting here in the dark. You realize all the noise from outside that door isn't helping."

"I know," Don sighed. "But the doctor didn't want to move him. He figured that would be worse."

"Don, I hate to tell you this -"

"Sergie kidnapped my father," Don said, cutting her off.

"How'd you know?"

"He called me. He wants his money."

"If he was going to kidnap your dad then why drug Charlie?"

"Charlie was revenge," Don answered. "Sergie knew Charlie was the one who figured out how to trace the money. He was also a distraction."

"ERT is going over the house," Terry said. "When I got there I found the glass on the back door broken and some of the furniture busted."

"Won't matter. Sergie said he'd call back."

"But if you're in here with Charlie how will you get the call?"

"I don't know," Don said in frustration. "I can't leave him."

Terry knew Don was torn between worry for his dad and leaving Charlie. Having his family fall victim to a felon they were trying to catch would eat at Don for months. She knew the effects of the Ketamine were temporary, if not pleasant, but Charlie would be all right. Their main concern now had to be Alan Eppes.

"Don," Terry said. "I'll stay with Charlie. You and David get to work finding your father."

"I don't know if Charlie will let me."

Terry looked down to see that Charlie had Don's hand in a death grip. That's when she noticed Charlie's' right hand was encased in bandages, as was his left forearm. Don saw where she was looking and explained what happened.

"How bad is his hand?"

" He was lucky," Don said, trying to loosen Charlie's hold. "There's no nerve damage or anything too serious. He just cut all the way down to the bone."

"Anything else I should know about before you go?"

"Yeah," Don sighed. "He bit his lip when the hallucinations started. They had to give it a couple of stitches."

Terry just shook her head as she came over to Don's side and tried to pry Charlie's fingers from Don's hand. Once his hand was free Don shook it a few times to get the circulation going again. Terry didn't attempt to hold Charlie's hand knowing how strong a person could be on Ketamine. She sat next to Charlie and turned to watch Don walk towards the door. He stopped just before leaving and gave his brother one last look. Charlie started thrashing against the restraints and Terry knew it was the hardest thing Don ever did, walking out the door.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

The look on Charlie's face as he left would haunt Don, but he knew Charlie was in good hands. He couldn't say the same thing for his father. Sergie had become unpredictable and Don would do anything to get his father back. As he entered the waiting area David, Amita and Larry stood up to meet him.

"How's Charlie?" Amita asked.

"He'll be okay, in time," Don said. "What about you?"

Amita touched the bandage at her neck. "The doctor said it would be fine. Didn't even need any stitches."

"Don what did you mean about Charles?" Larry asked.

"Sergie drugged Charlie with Ketamine," Don explained. "It's going to take him a couple of hours to recover."

"An anesthetic used by veterinarians?" Larry said. "Why would he do that?"

"It's also known as Special K," Amita said. She saw the look on Don's face and smiled. "Oh don't worry, I had no plans on ever trying it."

"Why would you want to?" Larry asked, rubbing his cheek.

"It's a street drug used to cause hallucinations and an out of body experience," Amita said.

"Charlie's at the hallucination stage," Don explained. "I don't know what he's seeing, but he's terrified. But I have something else to worry about. Charlie was only a distraction."

"A distraction," David said. "What are you talking about?"

"Sergie kidnapped our father."

"He wants his money," David concluded.

"I hate to leave Charlie," Don said, distraught. "But what else can I do? I have to wait for Sergie to call back."

"Don," Larry said, placing a hand on his arm. "We'll be here for Charlie. Only you can get back your father."

"Thanks, Larry," Don said. "David you're with me. Terry is going to wait with Charlie."

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

The traffic on the 10 was backed up, and Don cursed. As David drove Don pulled out his cell phone and contacted the tech to place a trace on any incoming calls to his cell phone. Don also wanted all conversations taped. David turned to look at his boss and could see Don was ready to explode. Hell, he didn't blame him; he was just surprised Don hadn't lost his cool yet. He listened as the older agent finished with the tech and hung up the phone.

"Charlie will be okay," David said.

"I know," Don sighed. "I just hated leaving him like that."

"Yeah, but Terry and the others will watch out for him."

"I know he's in good hands, but my dad…"

"We'll get Sergie," David assured him.

"How did this get so fucked up?" Don said, dropping his head against the headrest.

"We underestimated him," David said, unsure of Don's reaction.

"We sure as hell did," Don chuckled ruefully.

They sat in silence for a few minutes when Don's cell phone rang. He turned to David, who nodded his head.

"Agent Eppes."

"I see you left your bother's side. How is he by the way?"

"Don't even bring up Charlie's name," Don growled. "Just tell me how you want this done."

"Such impatience," Sergie laughed. "It's rather simple. You'll bring the five million to the Santa Monica Marina slip 42, tomorrow at 6:00 p.m."

"So I see you want it all, now that we took out your partners."

"Why shouldn't I ask for it all? I was the brains of the operation."

"I want to talk to my father," Don demanded.

"I don't think so," Sergie said. "Just do as I said and you'll have him back tomorrow. Oh yes - and come alone."

Don cursed as Sergie hung up. Quickly dialing the phone, Don got in touch with the tech. David listened as Don started yelling into the phone. A few minutes later he hung up.

"They weren't able to trace it?"

"They said it had been routed through too many servers for them to trace."

"Now what?" David asked as he turned off the freeway.

"Now we make a plan on how to catch the son of a bitch."

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Don pulled into the driveway at Charlie's house and cut the engine. Leaning back, he rubbed his hands over his face and sighed. It had taken them longer then he thought to work up a plan to take Sergie down. Terry had called around 8:00 p.m. to let him know they were releasing Charlie. She had offered to take him home, and Don was grateful. Terry had also told Charlie about their father. Don wearily got out of the SUV and headed for the door. As he got closer he heard someone scream, and he ran inside. Terry was running up the stairs and Don followed. As they got to Charlie's room Terry let Don go in first. They found Charlie sitting in the middle of his bed with the covers thrown to the floor. He had his arms wrapped around his pulled-up knees and he was shaking. Don approached him slowly and sat on the bed.

"Hey, buddy." Don was taken by surprise as he younger brother wrapped his arms around him. "What the hell's going on?"

"Doctor said the nightmares could continue up to 48 hours after the drug left his system," Terry explained.

"I'm sorry," Charlie said as he pushed away from Don.

"Don't be," Don said, pulling him back. "None of this is your fault."

"In a way it is," Charlie said, pulling away and Don let him go. "I was the one who came up with the program."

"Sergie's to blame for this, not you, " Terry said.

Don could still see the haunted look in Charlie's eyes as he turned to look at Terry. "Hey, buddy, do you want to talk about these nightmares?"

"Might help," Terry said.

"I doubt it," Charlie laughed uneasily.

"Try us."

"It's mom," Charlie's voiced cracked. "She's not dead when they take her to the funeral parlor. And...and..."

"Go on, Charlie," Terry encouraged.

Don watched as his brother wrapped his arms around his middle and winced. The right hand was still heavily bandaged and Don knew it had to be painful. Charlie looked at Don.

"She was dead, wasn't she?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah," Don said, not liking where this was going.

"God," Charlie cried. "It was so real. In the dream we bury her alive."

"Oh God, Charlie," Don said, pulling his brother into his arms.

"Don, promise me something?"

"Anything."

"You'll get dad back?"

"I swear, Charlie."


	13. Chapter 13

Don drove his Suburban along the highway toward Santa Monica. The traffic was moving, but not fast enough for him. His emotions were running the gambit from worry to anger. Don cursed and laid on the horn as someone cut him off. Tying to get his head back in the game wasn't going to be easy. Don sighed as he remembered last night at Charlie's house.

"Charlie you have to sleep," Don argued as he followed his brother downstairs.

"I won't, not if it mean I have to see mom -" Don watched as his brother's whole body shuddered. "I just can't."

"Don, let him go," Terry said, grabbing his arm before he could follow his brother.

"Are you crazy," Don yelled, turning on his partner.

"It won't hurt him," Terry reasoned, steering him back towards the stairs. "But you need to sleep if you're going to deal with tomorrow."

"I just can't leave him like that."

Terry looked over he shoulder at Charlie. The mathematician was pacing in front of the dinning room table as he flipped through a notebook. The lost look on Charlie's face nearly broke her heart. Don tried to move past her but she blocked his path.

"Do you trust me?"

"What the hell kind of question is that?" Don said, angrily. Terry crossed her arms and stared at him. "Yes, of course I do."

"Then trust me to take care of Charlie while you go to bed."

Next morning Don came down to find his brother asleep on the couch. He was surprised since he didn't think Terry would have been able to handle his younger brother.

"How did you sleep?" Terry asked as she came out of the kitchen.

"All right, considering," Don said, turning and pointing to his brother. "How did you manage it?"

"Whiskey will work wonders," Terry said, smiling as she walked back to the kitchen.

"What?" Don sputtered, following her into the kitchen.

"I'm kidding," she said, pouring him some coffee. "We talked."

Don took the coffee and leaned against the counter. "Why couldn't he talk to me?"

"Because you're his brother," Terry smiled.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Don said, annoyed as he slammed his mug down.

"Think about it," Terry said, crossing her arms and glaring at her partner. "Charlie looks up to you. He wants you to see him as a man, not his baby brother."

"That's not so easy," Don admitted. "So can you tell me what he said?"

"Talked about the house. You know, Charlie has a few theories on how to fix the boiler."

"I better warn my dad. Charlie isn't good with tools."

Terry saw the change in stance of her partner when he mentioned his father. Most people wouldn't notice, but she was trained to see these things.

"What Charlie really wanted to talk about was your mom."

"You're kidding," Don huffed. "He usually avoids the topic like the plague."

"With you, maybe," Terry agreed. "There's too much baggage between you on the subject."

"What baggage?"

"The fact that you couldn't understand why your brother worked that math problem."

"I understand why he did it," Don said, defensively. "It still doesn't make sense to me but I'm trying."

"There's also the fact that he misses her. He regrets not spending more time with her towards the end."

"Yeah, well -"

"See," Terry said, shaking her head.

Don grabbed his mug and took another sip of coffee. He really didn't need this right now. Glancing at the clock, he saw it was 11:00 a.m. Placing the empty mug in the sink, he headed to the living room for his keys. As he passed his brother, he could see Charlie was dreaming. The younger man tossed his head back and forth and started kicking with his feet.

"Charlie!"

At the sound of his name, Charlie sat up screaming. Don quickly moved to his younger brother's side as Charlie tried to catch his breath. In full panic mode it was impossible for Charlie to take a deep breath. As he took short snatches of air Don knew he was starting to hyperventilate.

"Here!" Terry thrust a paper bag into his hands.

Don cupped the bag over Charlie's mouth and nose. "Come on Charlie, breathe."

Terry ran back into the kitchen and got a large plastic bowl. She placed it next to Don as Charlie started to gulp air into his lungs. Pushing the bag off his face Charlie sprawled across Don's legs and Terry was ready with the bowl as he threw up. Don was hard pressed not to follow his brother's example as he pulled Charlie's hair back. The retching subsided and Charlie lay across Don's lap, breathing fast. Terry took the bowl to the kitchen as Don rubbed his brother's back. Don looked up as Terry walked back holding a damp towel. She knelt down in from of Charlie and wiped his face. Don didn't hear what she whispered in his ear but he felt Charlie nod.

"Sit him back up," Terry instructed. Together they got Charlie up and sitting on the couch.

"Was it a dream about mom again?"

Charlie gave a feeble laugh and shook his head. "Worse." He looked up at his older bother. "This time it was pop."

"And?"

Charlie shook his head and wouldn't answer.

"Come on, buddy, you can't keep these bottled up inside."

"Sergie kills him. You happy?" Charlie regretted the words as soon as he said them.

Don watched as Charlie hunched his shoulders and wouldn't look up. "I'll get him back, Charlie, I swear."

"I know in here," Charlie said, pointing to his heart. "But the equations in my head" he said, tapping his temple hard, "Tell me other wise."

Don didn't know how to respond to that as he stood up. "Charlie, I need you to stay here with Terry. I have to go to the office and get everything ready."

"I need to be there!" Charlie demanded, jerking his head up.

Don looked down at his brother and sighed. Charlie was completely frazzled. He was pale and the bruise from his previous encounter with Sergie stuck out in sharp contrast. The unruly curls obscured Charlie's eyes and Don pushed them aside.

"I need you to stay here," Don insisted, looking his brother in the eyes. "I need to know you're safe. This way I can concentrate on getting dad back."

The last thing Don remembered was Charlie's haunted eyes as he left the house. Don's phone rang and he grabbed it off his belt.

"Agent Eppes."

"Don, we're in place," David said.

"Good," Don snarled. "It's time to get this bastard."

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

The boat was hot, stuffy and deserted. At least it felt that way to Alan. He knew his kidnapper couldn't be far away. Pulling on the ropes resulted in a pulled muscle but got him no closer to escape. His captor, Sergie, had brought him to the boat last night and dumped him in the stern cabin. Then he went on to gloat about what he had done to Alan's youngest son. Sergie hadn't told him everything; all Alan knew was that Charlie had been drugged as a distraction while he was being kidnapped. The smell of the salt water gave Alan no clue as to where he was being kept. He didn't think he had been taken far, since Sergie bragged about getting even with his sons. Alan tried the ropes once more but stopped when he heard the lock being turned. Sergie walked in and sat on the bed.

"Won't be much longer," he said looking at his watch. "Soon you'll be reunited with your sons." Alan just glared at him. "Oh how rude of me."

Sergie reached over and pulled the duct tape from off his captive's mouth. Alan clenched his teeth against the pain as the tape pulled away. He didn't want to give Sergie the satisfaction of seeing him suffer.

"Don won't give you what you want," Alan said. "Not in exchange for me."

"Oh, won't he? After what I did to Charlie, Don will do whatever I ask."

"What did you do to him!" Alan said, struggling against the ropes.

"Let's just says it won't be something Charlie will soon forget."

"Sergie!"

Alan jerked his head towards door when he heard the familiar voice. "Right on time," Sergie said smiling.

Alan's heart started to race. He couldn't let anything happen to his son. Sergie reached down and cut the ropes. This was it, Alan thought. He was about to make a run for it when heard a gun being cocked.

"Don't make me shoot you," Sergie warned. "All I want is my money. Once Don gives it to me it will all be over. Now move."

Alan climbed the stairs and got on the deck of the boat. Sergie prodded him from behind and told him to climb out on the dock. Alan could see Don standing less than fifty feet away.

"You okay?" Don asked.

"Yes, son, I'm fine," Alan called.

"I didn't stage this little reunion so you could talk," Sergie said, looking at Don. "I want you to drop your weapon."

"I'm not armed," Don said, putting the duffel he was carrying down and holding his coat out from his body.

"Don't give me that crap!" Sergie said, putting the gun to Alan's temple. "Drop your weapon!"

"All right, just take it easy," Don said, reaching behind his back and pulling out his extra gun and throwing it forward.

"See, now wasn't that simple? Now throw the bag towards me as well."

Don was light-headed with anxiety. Seeing his father so close but knowing he could do nothing was making him crazy. He hoped none of this showed as he threw the money towards Sergie. Alan could see his son was worried. Nothing in Don's face or actions gave this away but a father knew these things. Alan was startled when Sergie pushed him towards the duffel. He was instructed to remove the money and put it in another bag. Alan did as he was told not wanting to make matters worse. When he was done Sergie told him to stand.

"Now your father and I are getting back on this boat."

"Like hell you are!" Don yelled, stepping forward. "I gave you what you wanted."

"Yes, you did," Sergie said, walking back towards the boat and pulling Alan with him. "But did I ever say I would let your father go once I got it?"

Alan saw the look of pure rage in his son's eyes and knew that if Don could have shot Sergie he would have. Alan also knew that he didn't have a chance of survival if he got back on the boat. He looked straight at his son and gave him a small nod. Don just stared and Alan hoped he understood what he was about to do.

Don saw the nod his father gave him and knew it was time. Sergie would never let his dad go if he got back on that boat. Don's heart was racing, knowing that what his dad was about to do was incredibly risky. Alan tripped and pushed against Sergie. That was all the cue Don needed to release the hidden gun up his sleeve.

Alan heard the shot and dropped onto the dock. He didn't remember much after that until he heard Don calling his name as he helped him to sit up. That's when Alan noticed Don wasn't alone. David was over checking on Sergie. Standing next to Don was another man with dark hair and eyes holding a rifle.

"That was a hell of a shot, Agent Edgerton."

"Yours wasn't so bad either," he said. "But I still say mine is the killing shot."

"Whatever, as long as the bastard's dead," Don said. Alan had never heard that tone of voice from his oldest before and he hoped he never would again. "Dad, are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Alan replied.

"Are you sure?" Don asked, seeing the cut above his eye.

"What, this? It's nothing." Alan saw the relief in Don's eyes but also the worry. He could see his eldest was fine, but he had to know about his youngest. "Sergie told me he drugged Charlie."

"He did," Don said, evasively. "I know you said you're all right but I want you to go to the hospital and get checked out."

"Donnie!"

Don knew that tone. He'd heard it enough growing up. His dad wanted to hear the truth and he wanted it now. "I'll tell you, on the ride to the hospital."

"Don -"

"No arguments, dad," Don said angrily. "You're going!"

Don left him to go talk with David and the other agent. Alan noticed other cars arriving and knew the area would be overrun with agents trying to secure the scene. Don came back and helped him stand. Once Alan was up Don took his arm as the walked up the ramp leading to the parking lot. When they got to the Suburban Don led him over to the passenger door and opened it. Alan went to climb in when Don stopped him.

"Dad, I -"

Alan saw the look in his son's eyes and pulled him into a fierce hug. Don returned the hug and Alan could feel the tension leave his eldest. After giving Don a rough pat on the back Alan pushed him away.

"Now let's get to the hospital so I can get back to your brother."

Don smiled as he watched his father climb into the SUV.


	14. Chapter 14

Want to send out a big thanks to my beta's, Susan and Lee Ann. For finding all my mistakes and pointing out the good stuff ;-)

* * *

Charlie sat next to the pond, absentmindedly-tossing food to the koi. It was awkward using his left hand, but the thick bandages on his right hand made it impossible to use. He sighed and stared down at the hand in his lap. He had no idea what he'd done yesterday, which only gave him something else to worry about. When Don left earlier, Charlie had remained on the couch, just staring at the front door. He knew Terry was worried about him, but he didn't have time for her concerns. All he was thinking about was his father and brother. She'd come in to check on him and asked if he wanted lunch, as if he could keep anything down with his stomach in knots. He'd finally escaped into the backyard and to the koi. Charlie knew Don would get their father back, but in what condition? Would Sergie beat him? Break his leg or worse? Charlie shuddered at all the possible things Sergie could do.

Before working with Don Charlie would never have thought of all the possible ways one person could hurt another. It wasn't that he was naïve and believed the world was a perfect place; it was just that Don's world was much darker than his life as a professor. Charlie sighed again and tried not to worry. He laughed bitterly, knowing that was never going to happen.

"Charles."

Charlie jumped when Larry called is name. He'd never even heard Larry approach. His mentor sat next to him, but Charlie hunched his shoulders and refused to look at him, refused to acknowledge his presence.

"Charles," Larry called, touching his shoulder. "We need to talk."

"I'm not really in the mood."

"Agent Lake tells me you've been sitting out here for hours."

Charlie shrugged and threw more food to the koi. Their scales flashed in the sun as they raced for the pellets.

"Charles, look at me," Larry insisted. When Charlie turned, Larry wasn't surprised by the dark circles under his eyes. What did startle him was the haunted look in Charlie's dark eyes. "Do you remember what happened yesterday?"

"No, "Charlie admitted. "I asked Terry but she wouldn't tell me. She said it could wait."

"I don't believe that's wise," Larry said, rubbing his chin. "Without all the data you can't understand what's going on."

"I've been trying to remember," Charlie shook his head in frustration. "But it's like there's a blank wall."

"There's no easy way to do this," Larry said as he pulled a paper from under his arm. "Maybe this is the best way."

Charlie reached for the paper with his right hand and winced. He dropped his hand back into his lap and took the paper with his left. When he saw the picture he gasped. It showed him holding Amita in a chokehold. Since the picture was in color Charlie had no trouble seeing the blood on Amita's white shirt. The headline told it all "Popular professor drugged on Campus".

"What the hell?" Charlie yelled and unconsciously used his right hand to try to flip through the pages. He cried out in pain and frustration as he crumpled the paper with his left hand and threw it.

"Easy, Charles, I'll try to explain."

"Just tell me one thing," Charlie growled. "Is Amita all right?"

"Yes, she's fine," Larry assured him.

Charlie closed his eyes and slumped forward. "What happened?"

"You really don't remember anything?" Larry asked, and Charlie glared at him. "Okay, okay," Larry said, patting the air with his hands. "Sergie drugged you."

"How?" Charlie asked, confused. "I had classes all morning then went to lunch with you and Amita."

"You'll have to ask Don," Larry frowned. "I'm guessing it was in your juice."

"What was the drug?"

"Ketamine."

"Special K," Charlie laughed bitterly. "A party drug."

"Also used as an anesthetic," Larry added. "Mostly used by veterinarians because of the side effects to humans."

"I guess one of the effects is to go postal."

"Severe hallucinations, great strength and an out of body experience," Larry explained.

"Like when you die," Charlie said with a hitch on his throat.

"Yes." Larry watched as Charlie wrapped his arms around his body and doubled over. "Charles?"

"God, I thought that was a dream. It was horrible."

"It wasn't real, Charles."

"Easy for you to say," Charles said softly.

"That was stupid to say," Larry said, shaking his head. "Of course to you it was real."

"What else?" Charlie demanded. "How did I hurt myself?"

"The juice bottle was glass," Larry explained. "You broke it then grabbed Amita and held it against her neck."

"What?" Charlie exclaimed.

"Maybe that wasn't the best way to explain," Larry said as he watched Charlie get to his feet and start pacing. "She's all right, Charles."

"You're sure?" Charlie asked, stopping and looking down at Larry.

"Yes, of course," Larry said, standing and grabbing Charlie's arm. "But you can ask her yourself. She's inside."

Charlie turned towards the house and stared. He couldn't do this, not now. Charlie walked away from Larry and headed for the garage.

"That didn't go quite the way I planned," Larry said, steepling his hands and tapping his chin.

123456789

Don drove his SUV in silence along the 134 freeway. The hum of the cars passing at high speed did little to calm him down. The past two days had been an emotional whirlwind. Normally he could keep things under control but Sergie sure knew how to push all his buttons. Drugging Charlie had been bad enough, but kidnapping his father had been the straw that broke the camel's back. He'd never wanted so badly to kill someone in his life. The Bureau would question the shooting of the suspect, but with Agent Edgerton taking the credit for the kill Don knew there was nothing to worry about. Don glanced over at his father and he could see Alan was trying to put on a brave face and was failing miserably. While they had waited for someone to stitch the cut over Alan's eye Don had explained what happened to Charlie. His dad had been pretty shaken when Don had finished and he knew it would take awhile before his family was back to normal. Alan turned to Don and frowned.

"You're sure Charlie's all right?"

"It's going to take some time, but he'll be fine."

"You said his right hand was cut pretty bad."

"It was," Don said. "He has to go back to the hospital tomorrow and get it checked out."

"And the dreams?"

"Not going to lie to you dad, they were bad," Don sighed. "Might take Charlie awhile to get over those."

"Is there someone in the department he can talk to?" Alan asked.

"Sure," Don answered reluctantly. "But I won't push it. I think if he just talks to us he'll be fine."

"Your mother was the one Charlie talked to, not us."

Don knew his father was right, but he wouldn't push Charlie into talking to the department shrink unless he asked. Maybe he could talk to Terry. Don would have to see if she was willing to help.

Twenty minutes later Don was pulling into the driveway. He got out of the car and walked around to meet his father. Alan put his arm around his son's shoulder and walked with him into the house. As they stepped into the living room Terry came out of the kitchen to greet them.

"How'd it go?" Terry asked.

"We'll talk later," Don said.

Terry nodded and turned to Alan. "It's good to have you back, Mr. Eppes."

"It's good to be back," Alan smiled. "Where's Charlie."

"He's outside sitting by the pond."

Alan excused himself and made his way through the dining room to the French doors and outside. Don glanced at Terry and saw her biting her lower lip.

"What's wrong?"

"He's been out there since you left," Terry said, looking at Don. "He hasn't eaten anything all day and…"

"And what?" Don demanded when Terry hesitated.

"Larry stopped by," she explained as she stepped away from Don. "He brought this to Charlie."

Don took the paper and saw the picture. "He knows?"

"Yeah, Larry told him what happened to him."

"And?"

"And nothing," Terry sighed frustrated. "Amita was also here but when Larry told him Charlie disappeared into the garage. He came back out after they left."

"Damn!"

"Larry feels bad but he thought Charlie should know," Terry explained. "He said Charlie just couldn't handle seeing Amita."

"I bet," Don said sarcastically.

"Don't be mad at Larry. Charlie needed to know."

"I know," Don nodded.

Terry watched as Don walked towards the doors to the back yard. He didn't go out and just watched from the window. Terry joined him and saw Alan was standing a few feet from Charlie.

123456789

Alan exited the house and walked towards the pond. Charlie had the lights off, but Alan knew where everything was. The moon was full and he could see Charlie sitting next to the pond watching the koi. Alan didn't say anything as he watched his younger son. It was odd for Alan to see Charlie sitting so quietly. Ever since Charlie had learned to walk he'd been in constant motion, always wanting to know how things worked and why, sometimes taxing the ability of his father to answer every question. Alan closed the distance and Charlie still hadn't turned to greet him. Sitting down next to Charlie took a little effort; sitting crossed legged was for younger, more flexible bodies. Now that he was closer, Alan could see the heavy bandages wrapped around Charlie's right hand. His youngest didn't seem to feel like talking, and that was okay with Alan. He just put his arm around his shoulder and waited. Charlie finally turned to him and Alan was caught by Charlie's eyes, eyes that were so much like his mother's. Charlie threw his arms around his father and Alan was surprised by the strength of his grip. Alan hugged his youngest son as he kissed the top of his head.

Terry smiled as she watched Don approach his brother and father. Don knelt down and put his arms around them. No words were exchanged, there wasn't any need for them. Terry stepped away from the window and gave the family some privacy. She knew it would take time but together they could get through this.

**Epilogue**

Don sat up and looked around the room. He wasn't sure what had pulled him from sleep so he sat and listened. His patience was rewarded when he heard the floorboards in the hall squeak. Don sighed and figured Charlie must be awake. His brother had seemed better after coming inside and calling Amita. Don had been surprised when his father had gotten Charlie to talk to her. The conversation was awkward but at least they had talked. Don knew he better go check on Charlie, threw back the covers and climbed out of bed. Don couldn't find his robe in the dark and walked out of his room in his pajama bottoms only. The hall was dark, but he could see a curly-headed silhouette standing by the door to his father's room. Don tried to walk down the hall without scaring Charlie, but the boards squeaked and Charlie turned, startled.

"It's okay, buddy."

"What are you doing up?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

Don watched Charlie shrug and knew that was all he was going to get. At least the dreams didn't have Charlie screaming himself awake like last night.

"Come on," Don said quietly. "Let's go raid the fridge." Charlie didn't follow and turned back to look at the door to their father's room. "He's really in there, Charlie."

"I know, it's just…"

"You had to make sure for yourself," Don nodded. "Well go on, then we'll go raid the fridge."

Don watched as Charlie quietly opened the door and peeked inside. He watched for a few minutes then closed the door and turned to his older brother and followed him downstairs. Don turned on the lights to the dinning room and made his way to the kitchen.

"So what do you want?" Don asked, opening the fridge and peering inside.

"Don't think I could keep anything down," Charlie admitted.

"I know something."

Charlie watched as Don closed the door and opened the freezer. He pulled out the ice cream and placed it on the counter. Charlie smiled and grabbed two bowls out of the cupboard. Don scooped out generous portions before replacing the ice cream in the freezer. Charlie took the bowl Don handed him and followed him to the living room. They sat on the coach and Don grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. While Don flipped through the channels Charlie ate his ice cream.

"Don?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

Don turned to his brother and smiled. He looked back at the TV to see an old baseball movie on.

"The Lou Gherig story," Charlie said.

"This is great," Don said.

"Yeah it is," Charlie said as he ate his ice cream with a smile.

Don looked at his brother and wondered if Charlie was referring to the movie or something else. It really didn't matter.

123456789

Alan grumbled and sat up in bed. The static from the TV downstairs had interrupted his sleep. He figured Charlie must have had some of those nightmares Don had mentioned and gone downstairs. Charlie would sometimes turn on the TV while he worked on equations and forget to turn it off. Alan pushed the covers back and swung his feet to the floor. He grabbed his robe and headed for the door. As he made his way to the living room he was surprised to see Don asleep sitting on the couch. His eldest had his head back against the pillow and was snoring softly. He was about to call and wake him when he heard a second snore. Walking closer he saw Charlie curled up on the couch with his head on Don's lap. Alan smiled as pulled the afghan off the rocker and covered Charlie. There was a smaller blanket hanging off the armchair and Alan carefully covered Don's upper body. Stepping back he stared down at his two sons. The past few days had been rough for all of them but Alan knew they would get through it together. As he made his way back to the stairs he stopped at the picture of his wife. He still missed her terribly but having his sons here made it bearable

"You'd be so proud," Alan said. "I know I am."


End file.
